


Daggers and Diplomacy

by RaychelRay



Category: Elena of Avalor (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexuality, Character Death, Espionage, F/M, LGBTQ Character, Marriage of Convenience, Multi, Older Man/Younger Woman, Politics, Post-Series, Romance, Royalty, Slow Burn, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:35:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 64,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23488441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaychelRay/pseuds/RaychelRay
Summary: The young explorer Captain Naomi Turner returns back to the Kingdom of Avalor, where everything has changed and everyone had grown out the people they once were. Well, every one except the Chancellor of Avalor and cousin to Queen Elena, much to Naomi's chagrin.However, when the two of them go in place of the pregnant Elena to respond to a distressing call in Norberg, they find that good Queen Abagail is dead, Chloe is missing, and an imposter and his slimy advisor having taken to the Throne. To top it off, this Phony King demands the capture and questioning of Naomi as a possibly conspiring Norbergian. To avoid this, Naomi must go from being a Norbergian to an Avalorian. They only solution: Marriage. To Esteban.While this solution is effective, it's the last thing Naomi and Esteban ever wanted. But, they'll have to learn to rely on one another as they hope to find Chloe, face the demons of the past, new dangers that threaten the future, and Naomi learns that Royal Court is a much more dangerous game than Pretty dresses and airheaded Royals. Especially when a slow burning attraction begins to arise and complicate matters even more.
Relationships: Esteban & Naomi Turner
Comments: 27
Kudos: 75





	1. Returning to Avalor

**Author's Note:**

> Quick Disclaimer: This is set in a time after series is going to end, so after Elena's Coronation as Queen and she has defeated Ash, Chatana, and the great darkness. This has also become a canon divergence and an AU, as Elena never fell into the magical well at Takaina. Therefore she never got her magical truth vision, meaning that Esteban's secret was never exposed and he had to break out and became a Sorcerer as well. 
> 
> All artwork that will be appearing in this fic is thanks to my amazing and talented friend Georgia aka Missnobodynobodius! Show her all the love please on Tumblr: https://missnobodynobodius.tumblr.com/tagged/my-eoa-art and here on Archive: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Labradoodling   
> Thank you again as well my friend for being with this fic since day 1! <3
> 
> Enjoy!!

There are some that believe that the world is flat.

Even with overwhelming evidence from centuries of maps, globes, and discovery, many still held onto this notion with an iron clasp.

To Naomi Turner though, it mostly just amused her to hear such talk, even when these people would prattle on for hours in pubs or on port docks atop of soapboxes all over the EverRealm, pious to the extreme.

Naomi could definitely see the appeal of that belief though, as she tightened her grip on the rung and leaned so far forward that she was practically hanging over the side of her schooner, **The WindChaser**. The breeze whipped her blonde hair around her face, and she could taste the salty sea spray on her lips as seagulls called above her in the sky, as the evening sun began to set over the completely flat and calm horizon.

Being encased in her element was truly and absolutely spellbinding.

Still, Naomi wasn’t one to believe in magic…well between what reality defining spectacles and incredible creatures she saw during her time as a Grand Council member, a part-time Anthropology student, and now as an independent Captain, perhaps believe wasn’t the right word. Rely on, she guessed, would be a better fit.

And that’s why despite her intrigue and ability to keep an open mind, Naomi couldn’t accept the idea of a flat world as nothing more than a fantasy, a myth.

If anything, she always wanted to ask these people, what was the point in that belief?

If they were proven right, what then?

Would they be content to stay in the little pond they now found themselves in?

Or would they look over the edge and into the abyss of stars and planets and the great unknown, and jump.

The musical tolling of the City's noon bells then rang out in the distance.

A smile stretched across Naomi's lips as she turned towards the direction of the sound.

She made a reach for her trusty spyglass that hung at her hip and brought it up to her eye.

Through it, Naomi could make out the familiar docks and easily found her parent’s home at the end of one. She also spotted the Jaquin guardians hanging out in the cliffs, the large-winged cats stretching out their lithe bodies and sun bathing, indicating that all was calm and right in the Kingdom. And finally, up on the highest hill, where the Royal Castle, home to the Castillo-Flores family, stood: grand, tall, and proud.

She was home.

Naomi swung around to the other side of the shroud and used the momentum to propel herself off and land gracefully onto the upper deck. This had been made exponentially easier when she had decided to forgo her skirt in favor of her mother, Captain Scarlett Turner's, style of high-waisted breeches about a year ago.

She quickly took hold of the helm and began steering the ship towards one of the surprisingly empty docks.

The ports of Avalor had also become one of the leading places of trade. And while they hadn't been founded by the current Queen and Naomi's best friend Elena, they had been cared and grown under her tutelage and her diplomatic skills to create friendships first and business later. 

Besides he Kingdom’s brightly colored emblem flapped in the wind from the top of many docked local ships, including her mother's impressive and beautiful clipper, **The Wayfarer;** Naomi's sharp eyes also spotted the flags of the Kingdoms of Cordoba, Pariso, and even Galonia. Looked like the trade agreement on textiles had been finalized since she had been here last.

Naomi caught sight of the enthusiastic arm waving of one of the Port boys, signaling where she could dock. Naomi redirected her course, and though she had been docking ships of this size since she was 12, she couldn't help but get that small dose of pride every time she did it smoothly and gracefully, this time included.

“Miss Naomi!” A boisterous voice then called out. “Welcome back.”

“Good to see you, Horacio,” Naomi said as she graciously took the hand he had extended out and her small frame was easily pulled up and onto the dock. “Have you seen my dad?”

“Haven't seen Captain Daniel for a while Miss," Her father's second-in-command said, which is why he tended to call her father his given rather name rather than a more formal version. Not that her father would mind either way.

"Went somewhere with the other Captain Turner about an hour ago I would say.”

“Well, they’re bound to pop up eventually," Naomi said nonchalantly. "I am a few days earlier then I had written in my letter."

Naomi finished securing and rechecking all her expertly tied knots in record time. “Let them know you’ve seen me and that I’ll be at the palace if they happen to come back here.”

“Aye aye ma’am.”

Naomi returned the man's salute before she began walking down the dock with quite a bit of haste in her step. She was always excited to be reunited with her group of close friends of Queen Elena, Mateo the Royal Wizard, and General Gabe. They had all gained quite the reputation of equal part heroes and troublemakers a few years ago that most of the locals had started to refer to them as _Los Cuatro Amigos_.

However, her pace was instantly slowed as she only made it a few steps before she was being called out and greeted by the said locals. With her father having been the harbor master now for quite a few years, Naomi had spent a majority of her time down at these docks, helping where she could and getting to know these people. Which is why despite the excitement and anticipation coursing through her, she took the time to reply to every one of their greetings.

"Heya Scotty, how's the new baby?"

"Hi Franchesca, you grew so tall!"

"I'm fine Miguel, but I can't say for those knots! I thought I taught you better!"

"Careful there!"

Naomi ran over to where a man was struggling to get a bag of coconuts up into a cart. She quickly grabbed one end of the bag and helped him bring them up and over.

"Thank you,” The man huffed out before Naomi was greeted with yet another friendly face.

"Naomi, good to see you!" Julio grabbed her hand and shook it violently.

"Likewise Julio," Naomi replied, gripping his hand firmly and matching his enthusiastic welcome. "And Congratulations! Elena wrote to me saying that you were re-elected as Magister of Trade."

"Thank you! Though, I would be lying if I didn't say it was a lot more responsibility than when I first started out. More routes are starting to open up." Julio rubbed at the scratchy beard that had grown in for emphasis. "Say, you should come by the restaurant soon, my treat!"

"It was just a bag of coconuts, you don't need to do that," Naomi mused.

"I'm talking about having the famous Captain Naomi Turner, the young explorer of the world, visiting my establishment."

"Well, let's not go quite that high," Naomi said, hoping to sound casual. But, if she looked a little too pleased, who could blame her? She hadn't spent the last three years traveling all over the EverRealm just twiddling her thumbs.

"But sure, I'm never one to turn down a good meal."

"Excellent!" Julio clapped his hands together. "I'll let Carmen know, she's a huge fan of your--"

"What's that matter, _Chancellor_? The Royal family doesn't have time to be concerned with the plights of the common people since the Queen's coronation?" A familiar haughty and overly aristocratic voice rang out through the courtyard of Avalor Square.

Julio and Naomi simultaneously groaned and turned to its source.

Doña Paloma was the owner of the largest Emporium in all of the kingdom. She had a lot more power during the reign of Shuriki as Magister of trade, but it had started the wane in recent years as Elena gave people the actual "common people" more opportunities to rise up. Doña was the only one who seemed to miss this memo.

Or she knew, and was trying to nag her way back into power still. And Esteban Flores, Elena’s older cousin, and the man currently standing by the nagging woman, was the best person to do this too, since he never failed to meet her pettiness wholeheartedly.

"I can assure you, _Doña_ , that the Royal family and I always have the Kingdom's interests at heart." Esteban then made a great show of straightening out his blue and yellow Chancellor sash that he wore everyday. "With that though, comes the new growth and responsibilities that we must prioritize what it important. And your Emporium is...somewhere on that list, most likely somewhere near the bottom."

"Then perhaps it's time for someone who can keep up with this new Avalor," Doña replied, her red lips in a sly smile. "And I do believe I see another gray hair in your beard. Shouldn't you be thinking of your retirement soon? Perhaps somewhere far, far away. The Frozen caps would suit you very well."

"Don't think I don't know about the hair dye that you have regularly delivered to your shop, that coincidentally matches your hair color perfectly." Esteban then took a step forward, and leaned towards Doña, whose smile had been wiped clean. "So, you'll have to pull that title from my cold, dead hands, Doña Paloma."

"That might be sooner than you think. I think I found another gray hair," Doña said, pointing a sharp finger at his beard.

Naomi shook her head in amusement. "Tell your sister that I'll be in tomorrow night for dinner." She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder. "I need to give even those two a proper greeting."

"Entering the lions den? You really are braver than all of us," Julio said with unneeded dramatics.

Naomi gave the man a small smile before she turned and called out, “I see some things never change!”

The pair immediately stopped bickering as their eyes turned upon her.

Naomi met each of their gazes directly. Doña’s eyes though didn’t meet hers as she was too busy observing Naomi’s appearance with a critical look. No doubt from the scandalous sight of Naomi's many ear piercings and visible tattoos as it clashed with Doña’s very uniformed and gaudy silks and jewels.

Naomi then turned to Esteban, expecting to receive the same look from him as he could just as haughty as Doña. However, his brown eyes met hers instantly in an almost unreadable expression. This didn’t unnerve her as he had uncharacteristically nice eyes, though they didn’t go at all with his near-permanent cocked eyebrow and frown he seemed to wear. Or maybe those things were reserved just for her.

"Miss Turner," Doña Paloma then said languidly, fluttering her trusty, small blue fan in clear agitation. "What an...unexpected and unannounced entrance as always."

Naomi took off her turquoise Captain's hat in one great sweeping motion and bowed to the woman. "Doña Paloma."

"And I still see that your training as a refined lady began and ended on the day of your Royal Quinceañera," Doña replied condescendingly, her gaze turning to Esteban. "Pity your training for your protégé didn't stick, Chancellor."

"Oh no, it did," Naomi sharply interjected, her blue eyes now slightly narrowed. "I just prefer to use my courtesies on people who actually warrant them."

Esteban's thin mustache twitched slightly on his lips.

Doña looked less than amused. "Well, can I least be assured that as a "successful" explorer, you've brought some goods to trade to my emporium?" She raised her chin high, giving the golden feather in her small blue hat her extra height that the already tall woman didn't need. "As always though, I only accept the finest and most extraordinary treasures from around the realm."

Naomi immediately felt a slight heat creeping up her neck. She quickly blamed it on the sun and warm temperature of the day though, and securely placed her hat back on her head, making sure the turquoise feather stood just as tall and proud.

"Well, a woman of your knowledge should know about the unfortunate plundering that's been going on for these great and ancient treasures." Naomi then tilted her head. "And I would hate to think you would ever be in such shady business. Especially since we wouldn't this year's Feast of Friendship to have a magical mask fiasco like it did a few years ago. Where did you say you got those masks again?"

Doña scowled and placed a hand on her hip. "You know, brashness can only get you so far. One day you’re going to get into a situation where snide remarks won’t be able to save you.”

“That certainly never stopped you, Doña,” Naomi remarked matter-of-factly. "Besides, I would love to see that challenge."

"Well Doña, as...invigorating as this conversation has been, again, I am due back at the Castle for some actual important Royal business, as always." Esteban motioned to Naomi, "I assume you're heading the same way."

Naomi nodded. Her eyes briefly went back to Doña Paloma. However, this time Naomi didn't bother to pull her hat off, and instead grabbed the brim and gave her a slight nod. "Doña."

And with her head held high, Naomi went on her way towards the direction of the hydro-gondola station, one of the more successful inventions created and patented by Princess Isabel. And it wasn't that Naomi didn't love the younger princess like she was her own little sister, but the young woman had been in the palace during quite a few explosions and shattered fountains that she could safely say that she only now felt comfortable riding this form of transportation, rather than the slower house riding or even walking with the assurance that all the kinks had been worked out.

“I see time hasn’t dulled that sharp tongue of yours, Naomi,” Esteban then noted as they fell into step to walk side by side. Which wasn't always easy with him since his taller frame meant he could take much longer strides than her.

“What can I say, some people’s ignorance makes for a great whetstone.” Naomi smirked, “So I look forward to our conversations while I’m back.”

Her barb seemed to work on him as he gawped and tried to look down towards her to show his insulted face. Which was always humorous since he stood a head taller than her, that he had to bend at an awkward angle to try and meet her gaze.

It really was too much fun to take a jab at him. He had looked down on her over that long, hooked nose of his since the day they had met, that she relished when he fumbled in his façade.

He finally gave up his ridiculous bending and straightened his back to its usual dignified way.

"Shouldn't I be the ones on that list that 'warrants your courtesies' Miss Turner? Even if they would be in that usual raspy voice of yours."

Naomi loathed at the use of his nickname for her when he wanted to sound superior. So, she wasted no time as she jumped in front of his path into the only hydro-gondola coach that was guarded by a few soldiers as this was the only one that led directly to the palace.

"And here I thought we had a more friendly relationship." Naomi smirked as she hung forward from the coach's door frame towards him. "Esteban."

The young woman counted this as her win as Esteban refused to give her a response and simply took his place on the opposite bench across from her. The door was closed and latched securely and the hydro-gondola mechanics whirled to life, and with a slight lurch they were lifted off the ground.

Naomi leaned out the window and gleefully took in the sights as they climbed higher and higher into the sky. So much of this place hadn't changed at all. Not that she had particularly expected it too, but she had gotten so used to navigating unfamiliar territories, it was nostalgic to see things that had become so familiar to her in her teen years. Even the school she graduated from that she spied in the distance. Which had been the most surprising thing as her education had mostly consisted of a fair bit of homeschooling by her father since they had moved around for so long.

This may have not been the place of her birth or her family's origins, which was quite obvious from her paler complexion and brighter hair color, but it was the only place that had ever felt like home.

She laughed lightly to herself. She was only 21, so her teen years were hardly ancient history.

“That is quite the dagger you are carrying.” Esteban then noted.

Naomi's eyebrows furrowed slightly before she realized he was talking about her dagger that was strapped to her belt that was around her hips. It had become such a second appendage to her, much like her lasso that hung from her belt as well, that she hardly remembered that she actually carried it, but always knew she had it in the most dire of times.

Esteban stretched out his hand. "May I?"

Naomi unsheathed it and handed it over to him. She had seen him spare with his grandfather with a fair amount of fancy footwork in there to know he could handle a sharp object without hurting himself. She hoped.

"Got it over in a village near Camelot," Naomi explained. "The blacksmith that I got it from supposedly dips his weapons in water collected from the same lake that Excalibur was kept safe in by the Lady in the Lake."

"Is that the reason you bought it?"

"Don't be silly, you know I'm not one for honeyed or flowery words. It was just too fine and useful of a weapon to pass up on, however." Naomi said proudly. Though it had required quite a bit of haggling to get it down to a decent price.

"This is true," Esteban actually said approvingly as he ran his thumb down the intricate swirl designs carved into the blade. “Fine steel. Lightweight. And it’s perfectly balanced.” 

The dagger then disappeared out of Naomi's sight for a second as Esteban tossed to his other hand with a sharp twirl at an incredible speed before it was presented back to her hilt first.

Naomi raised up one eyebrow and cautiously grabbed the leather bound hilt and took it back from him. Even though they had known each other for quite a few years now, there was so much mystery around him. It's not like they had been particularly close. But having been Royal Council members together and him being Elena's cousin, she knew the basics about him. That he had been Chancellor of Avalor since he was 18, he had lost his parents at a very young age, he had served under Shuriki's tyrannical reign alone in order to protect his family. And that he was also arrogant, had his nose permanently stuck up, and was generally annoying. So, Naomi often wondered how much wisdom actually came with those sparse gray hairs of his.

Her point was further proven when the hydro-gondola came to a stop, and he made a show of exiting first with a great flourish of his deep burgundy colored jacket. He also made a show of acting like he had not just done something so childish as he offered his hand without making eye contact with her like he was the bigger man. Was this man really forty years her senior?

"Come on Miss Turner, surely a woman of your youth and vigor shouldn't take this long."

Naomi took it upon herself to ignore his gesture and instead jumped from the coach well past him altogether.

"Don't fall behind," She said over her shoulder as she walked down the platform steps.

She threw open the nearest door and was greeted with silence. And that's struck her as odd. This place was always lively with some kind of activity. So where was everyone?

“This way Miss Turner.” Esteban immediately made his way to one of the grand staircases and Naomi had no choice this time to be the one that followed.

They then reached one of the sets of doors that led to the balcony, where Esteban motioned for her to be the one to open the doors. And here she thought sophisticated gentlemen, or so he claimed to be, always opened doors for ladies. 

But, this didn't stop her as she grabbed the handles and threw the doors wide open.

“Welcome Home!”

Naomi jumped back at the sudden assault of the loud jovial voices and a fair amount of colorful confetti that was raining down before she had even stepped through the doorway.

Once it died down, Naomi smiled as she was greeted by the friendly faces of the entourage consisting of: her parents, the abuelos Francisco and Luisa, Elena's younger sister Isabel, Elena herself, Mateo, Gabe, and even Mateo's mother Rafa De Alva.

Was it already Sunday? Must be, since Rafa usually only made the trek across the city for her and the family's weekly dinners. Naomi had really lost track of the days more so than she had thought in her determination to get back to Avalor as soon as possible.

“I didn’t realize you had been stuck with coming to retrieve me,” Naomi said, jabbing her elbow into Esteban's arm, now putting the pieces together.

The man looked unamused and brushed out the spot on his coat she had touched, even though there wasn't any trace of a wrinkle. “I had other business to attend to while I was down there.”

“And it was a Royal Order from his Queen. And you seem to have more than enough free time nowadays,” Elena said matter-of-factly.

Esteban only rolled his eyes and went over to take his usual place next to his grandparents and younger cousin. In which Isabel looped her arm through Esteban’s, and Naomi saw the barest hint of smile from him.

Elena and Naomi only shared knowing smiles before Elena wrapped her arms around Naomi and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“This is not the first time I’ve come back home, you know!” Naomi said pragmatically, but she still returned Elena's affection with just as much enthusiasm that they swayed, just like little kids did.

“Well, we have a lot to celebrate anyways," Elena said, moving to grab both of Naomi's hands. "With Reina on the way, Isa being accepted as a full time college student in Setu, Mateo starting his Wizard Guild, and of course you being officially home now, it would have been foolish to not throw a small party!”

Naomi put a hand on the small protruding bump of Elena’s belly. “Reina? How do you know it’s already a girl?”

“I had a dream of a baby that was all round, so that only means it’s a girl.”

This statement confused Naomi, but she figured that was probably just more of an Avaloran superstition than a particularly magical one. After all, a woman in the Kingdom of Napurna had once told Naomi she was having a boy because her nose hadn't swollen during her whole pregnancy. However, Elena could have very well added a psychic ability in her already long list of magical skills. Which with her also having a Royal Wizard for a husband, wouldn't surprise Naomi in the slightest.

“Well, you can let Reina know that she is the only reason I know for sure that any time has truly passed here!”

"You say that, but look how long your hair has gotten!" Elena grabbed a piece of Naomi's blonde hair.

Usually she had kept it ear length, to keep it off her neck and it was easier to maintain that way. But now as a Captain, having slightly longer hair helped in keeping her neck warm and easy to tie back. Still, it wasn't quite as long as her parents, whose were able to lay flat down, and instead stuck out in spiky angles.

Speaking of which, her parents then stepped forward to the two women, and Elena instantly stepped aside respectively.

"Good to see you Naoms!" Her mother exclaimed as all of them came in for their usual group hug that ended with her dad pulling both women right off their feet.

"Captain Turner and I, Captain Turner, are happy you are home, Captain Tuner," Her dad said extremely proudly as he set them back down. Causing both her mother and her to roll their eyes good naturedly.

"I can't wait to tell you guys everything! And I also have a few more sailing questions as well that I didn't get a chance to write to you in my last letter," Naomi beamed up at them.

"Well, we've got quite a big spice order coming in the day after tomorrow. So we'll be happy to talk after then. Or maybe I can cash in a day off finally and pass it off instead to--" Her father started before her mother nudged him in the ribs playfully and instantly stopped him.

"What your father is trying to say, if that we're not going anywhere anytime soon. So we'll have plenty of time," Her mother said. And it was a sentence that still made Naomi extremely happy every time she heard it. Her mother had been so absent during her childhood on merchant sailing trips, it was nice to know they had plenty of time to be together.

Naomi was almost tempted to just start rambling off to them despite what her mother had just said when she caught sight of something.

"Woah, and Elena said my hair got long!?" Naomi exclaimed. She gave her parents one last look before turning onto her next target.

"Well I happen to like it," Mateo said proudly. His brown curls had always been messy and unruly, but now they were so grown out that he had to have them tied back into a ponytail at the base of his neck.

"Elena really finds this attractive?" Naomi asked jokingly as she gave him a friendly side hug.

"Why yes, she does actually," He said smugly with one eyebrow cocked up and large smirk. Hard to believe this was that same clumsy and dorky (well he was still dorky) guy that she had first seen around school.

"I guess you know what she likes better than I do, Wizard King Mateo, Pioneer of new magic and Defender of the Realm!"

"Ugh, can you not," Mateo said with a deep sigh. "I already have to tell some many people that it's just 'Royal Wizard Mateo who just happens to be married to the Queen of Avalor.'"

Naomi barked out a laugh. "Yes, because that is so much easier to say instead."

She felt a hand touch her back, and Naomi turned to see the only person here that made her heart beat a little faster.

Gabe gave her a full, great smile as his warm hands grabbed her waist and pulled her in for a hug that brought her up to the tips of her toes. Naomi wrapped her arms securely around his neck.

"Hey."

"Hi."

And that was all the greetings they needed to say right now as they both let go of their hug. Neither one of them was big on overt public affection and most certainly not around this nosy bunch of people, especially Mateo and Elena, who were sharing a knowing glance. They were hardly ones to talk though, or in this case look, with how long it had taken for them to get together.

"Nice stubble," Naomi remarked, as she tried to play off running her thumb against the rough texture of his skin on his sharp jawline as casually as possible.

"What? You prefer me clean-shaven?" Gabe asked, taking a small step so that they were toe-to-toe.

Naomi brought back down her hand and shrugged. "Surprise me when we have dinner tomorrow night at our usual time and drinks at Carmen's place."

Gabe quirked up an eyebrow at her usually brash way of delivering an invitation. "Are you asking or demanding?"

Naomi simply shrugged again, but this time threw in a small wink at the end.

Another set of balcony doors were then opened and a short rounded man emerged.

"Dinner is served," Armando, the Chief-of-the-Castle said brightly, motioning for the group to make its way inside. "Got everything set up in the ballroom since we have so many extra guests."

"Perfect timing, as always Armando! I'm starved," Elena said as she took Mateo's arm that he had offered out to her.

"Goodness mijita, you just might give your Abuelo here a run for his tamales," Luisa joked as she and Francisco followed in as the next pair behind. 

Followed by Naomi's parents, plus with Rafa on Scarlett's other arm. Then Gabe and Isabel as he was helping her get some confetti out of her tangled hair.

"I think I put too much power in the confetti canon," Isabel noted, giving her hair one more final shake.

"Well, I think it was incredible. Same as I think for all your inventions," Gabe told her reassuringly and patted her shoulder.

This left Naomi and Esteban as an unlikely pair in the back.

Just as they were about to walk through the door, a gust of wind suddenly blew by, causing the door right near Naomi to swing speedily at her. She held up her forearm to shield herself from the impact as possible. But right as the door was about to hit her, Esteban's hand shot out and stopped it.

So, he did have the capacity to be a gentleman.

"Why thank you, Chancellor," Naomi said, raising her voice to a higher, more girlish pitch as she dropped into a perfect little curtsy, despite not wearing a skirt to give it's full feminine elegance. Even now, she could still feel the weight of the heavy book Esteban had forced her to balance on her head while she did her one and only week of Royal etiquette lessons.

"Hmmm, there may be hope for you yet, Lady Turner." He said just as pompous as always, but there was a certain twinkle to his eye that Naomi had never really seen directed at her before and threw her off slightly.

She recovered quickly and gave him a wicked smile as she reached up and plucked a piece of confetti that had been stuck on the tip of his pointed beard. "Funny, I was just about to say the same thing to you, Esteban."


	2. Standing in the Crossroads

"Why Miss Turner, as I live and breathe!"

Naomi took off her Captain's Hat in order to duck under the small doorway and into the cozy little book shop, _A Novel Idea,_ and gave the shop owner a bright smile as she was encased in the musky smell of books.

Mercedes was a nice older woman, if not a little eccentric. She had rings on every finger and wore a faded shawl of deep purple decorated with what had once been bright pink butterflies. 

"Got any more stories for me!?" She immediately asked, as she clasped her hands to her chest, where there was already mixture of pencil lead and ink greatly smudged on them. Though, it was entirely possible that they just could never ever be fully washed off it by this point. 

So much for any formalities like: _how have you been? Or I'm glad you're in good health!_

However, Naomi couldn't fault a woman for knowing what she wanted. And while it had been Elena's idea to sell Naomi's stories, stating that everyone should revel in awe as much as she did from her letters, it was Naomi herself who acted upon it and chose Mercedes as she personally knew that she didn't possess the soul of a dramatic. Plus, the old woman already had a history of writing and successfully publishing the adventure tales of the famous Avaloran explorer Antonio Agama.

"Well, I did visit a museum in the Kingdom Of Adelissi!" Naomi began as she approached the counter, stepping around the stacks of books on the ground. "They had all this information on the history of the Great Pyramids and even real life mummies!"

That seemed to catch Mercedes's attention as she leaned over the counter, digging around in her dress pocket to produce a pencil and small notebook.

"The process of mummification is really fascinating!" Naomi exclaimed, her eyes bright with excitement as she placed her hat on the counter. She then tried to emulate the hand movements her guide had used. "They actually take out all the organs and place them in these incredibly decorated ceramic jars--"

"That's nice my dear," Mercedes interrupted. "But do you have anything like a multi-headed hydra, or a King that you danced with at a ball, or a 1000 year old curse being unlocked because you read a forbidden passage!?"

Naomi chuckled. "No, not this time. Plus, I worked with Dr. Mendoza long enough in those Maruvian pyramids in the mountains to know that the first rule of excavation is that you never read the ancient text out loud."

The older woman didn't even try and hide her crestfallen expression as she pocketed her pencil and notebook.

"Oh, well. I'm sure you'll have something else next time! After all, the independent explorer out on her own! Somethings bound to come up!" She said optimistically, grabbing one of her own shortbread cookies that were in the complimentary 'Take one' basket by the register.

"I mean, Senor Agama has been doing it for many, many, many years!"

"Right..." Naomi said as she went up to fiddle with the little turquoise gems of her choker nervously.

The young Captain guessed that the news hadn't spread yet that she was actually going to be staying here in Avalor for an unknown amount of time. While this would seem like such a mundane piece of information to most, it would shock anyone who knew the always organized and list orientated Naomi personally didn't have a plan.

Even her first voyage had been planned out to the smallest detail. Though that one had had an advantage, as it had just been a dream stored way in her mind until her childhood friend Veronica had visited her. Seeing that the Caribbean port friend of her youth was now all grown up and a Captain of her own ship had reawakened Naomi's desires to go back to her seafaring roots. Back to when she could pack up all her belongings in 10 minutes and be on the next ship out.

No ties, no rules, no responsibilities.

"Speaking of Antonio!" Mercedes then said eagerly, placing the half eaten cookie disgustingly back into the basket and brushed the crumbs from her hands. "I finally have enough short stories about you that I'm going to start combining all of them into a book! With your permission of course."

Mercedes turned around to pull out a large drawing notepad from her own personal book shelf. It thudded loudly against the countertop and she began to leaf through until she found the desired page.

"I've even been sketching out a few book covers!"

Naomi had learned during the interview process that Mercedes had also spent many years being a propaganda writer for the rebellion during Shuriki's dictatorship. They were now even framed proudly up on the walls in just about every corner of the store. However, when the rebellion was won and Elena and her family were restored to the throne, Mercedes had taken it upon herself to be the official writer for the life and times of Princess Elena. And also a romance writer for the hushed circle of people that quickly tucked those kinds of stories into their pockets. And without the previous experience of being in Avalor during the dark times and actually being an active part of Elena's life as Crown Princess, it wasn't until after her first story was published that Naomi realized that Mercedes often took creative liberties with the truth that was presented to her. Which reflected in her current sketches.

Naomi took her lower lip between her teeth and bit down tightly in order to make sure she didn't laugh out loud. The first one had her smoking a comically large pipe as she sat atop a large open chest filled with gold and jewelry, and her Captain's hat having quite a few extra feathers in it rather than just the one. Another one of them had her in an eye-patch, even though she was very certain she still had both of her blue eyes, and a cutlass in her hand while she was fighting what looked like a giant squid. And the last one had her swinging from a rope, with a woman clutched tightly in her arms like a regular damsel-in-distress as a mob of pirates followed behind.

While there was truth in all these pictures, it was only a sliver.

The treasure chest had only been a jewelry box, mostly filled with shells and a few precious stones for a grandfather who wanted to pass it on to his grandchildren. And while there had been a giant Squid, she had known about it way in advance and had carefully planned a route to go around it quietly and safely. 

And as for that damsel, she had not been one, not even close. She had in fact been the most incredible person that Naomi had met, and even with all her bravado and skills, Naomi hadn’t been good enough for her, to keep her heart. And even a year later, it still stung to think about, so much so that Naomi dared not even think of her name right now or she would begin to remember and lose herself.

Naomi tilted her head. "They are definitely...exaggerated," She said flatly.

"Well, you've got to keep it exciting!" Mercedes swung her arms in a wide motion to emphasize her point. "It's how you earn your fortune. Which reminds me!"

Mercedes ducked behind the counter and produced a small bag. "Your share for the month."

Naomi picked up the bag and a pang of disappointment stabbed her chest, as she barely felt any weight in it. She honestly wondered for a moment if there were any coins in there at all or if Mercedes was playing a cruel joke on her.

True, any cash was helpful to get medical supplies, some bread and grog, or anything else she would need on her journeys. And she should have expected this outcome, the last few letters she had written were few and sparse in between and not much in the way of high sea adventures, so no stories had been written about her.

But that had only been two months though. Was her success really so fleeting?

It had certainly gotten exhausting, adjusting her lifestyle to live day by day for two years. Not knowing if she would have enough money for a box of crackers, which had happened on one or two occasions.

Naomi cast one more glance to the book covers, trying to envision what her legacy would be immortalized as if she said yes. And she couldn't, so she couldn't say yes. Not right now.

"Thank you for your continued patronage," Naomi said politely as she tied the bags cord to her belt. "If you'll excuse me, Mercedes, I'm meeting up with a friend. So, we'll talk later about the book."

"Of course, of course, the young always have something going on." Mercedes said, gathering up the sketches. "I really do look forward to whatever story you bring me next!"

Naomi only hoped that she was able to bite the inside of her cheek hard enough to not openly show her grimace at the woman's words as she put back on her hat and quickly exited the shop.

******************

"Here's your pint Naomi!" Carmen said cheerfully as she placed it on the table.

"Thanks," Naomi smiled broadly at the woman. "Can I actually get another please? Gabe should be here soon."

"Of course!"

As soon as Carmen left, Naomi immediately picked up her tankard and took a large gulp from it. She didn't know what the secret ingredient in this was, like all the drinks and food here, but whatever it was, it was amazing! It was no wonder that this was the most popular restaurant in the Avalor City Center.

The front door bell then chimed and Naomi immediately turned to look a little more enthusiastically than she wanted to. Luckily enough Gabe, who it finally was, didn't seem to notice.

"Over here Nunez!" Naomi exclaimed unabashedly and even waved an arm at him. It worked as he turned to her, and gave her a winning smile when he saw her face. A smile that could make a girl of more 'delicate sensibilities,' one of Esteban's favorite terms, swoon on sight.

“I hope you didn’t wait long. Final inspections took a little longer than necessary." Gabe said, sliding in the seat across from her and pointing to his five o'clock shadow for further evidence. Though, Naomi would've guessed that easily from the fact that he was still wearing his Uniform, with his now many honors and medals gleaming in the candlelight.

'So, he would have come clean shaven,' Naomi then thought to herself intrigued. Honestly, she was glad that he hadn't. Call her old fashioned, but she liked facial hair on men.

"It's okay, I understand. I'm just happy you were able to make it."

And she meant that. She knew it mustn't have been easy to be in charge of every soldier in the Kingdom, especially since he was the youngest General in almost over a century.

“And it’s really great to just be back here.”

“Back as in here to visit?” Gabe slipped his large tan fingers through her smaller pale ones. “Or back here to stay for good?”

Now that was a loaded question. Naomi had only been back for a handful of times since she began this new daring way of life, and all of them had been for her best friend: once for when Elena had needed her against Ash and Chatana, another was Elena’s Coronation as Queen, and the last time had been Elena and Mateo’s wedding almost a year ago.

And last night, everyone had talked all throughout dinner in catching up and reminiscing about past memories that plans for the future hadn't had time to come up. Which Naomi had been grateful for at the time, but she knew she couldn't outrun it forever.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Naomi admitted. “I miss you guys like crazy, but I’m not sure what I want to do yet.”

“Really? I thought you wanted to be Captain of your own ship, and naturally you would follow your mom.”

Before Naomi could respond, Carmen came by with the second pint of ale.

"And there we are!"

"Thanks," Naomi said, sliding her hand out from Gabe's. "Again, you really didn't have to do this yourself. Especially since I know you're going to be opening up a second location soon."

"Well, if I can be honest. There's something I wanted to ask you." Carmen pulled out a piece of paper from her apron pocket. "Could I get your autograph?"

"Oh! Of course Carmen," Naomi said as she felt a sense of pride boost within her. She grabbed the piece of paper and the quill that had magically appeared in front of her.

She smoothed out the paper and just as she was to touch the quill to the paper, she froze. It was a copy of one of Mercedes's short stories.

This one in particular was based on when Naomi's mast had snapped and she had to drop anchor and swim a mile to the nearest island. She had survived on this marooned island for a week, using only what small things she had at her disposal to get fresh water, hunt, and keep warm before she was luckily found by some locals on the next island over that had been out fishing. She had never felt more alive and invincible than during that experience.

And all of those ingenious tips and tricks had been thrown away and instead were replaced with a story about Naomi being marooned, but about her swinging from vines and receiving advice from an Ancient Island God. When Naomi had gotten the story mailed to her at her next port, she had been ready to put her foot down. But it had also been the best seller out of all her stories and had supplied her with enough money for almost half a year.

Now, she couldn't shake the sudden realization that she had sacrificed her moral integrity just for money. But, there was no one to blame but herself.

So, Naomi quickly scratched out her autograph, keeping enough control to not let her anger seep out and cause her to tear the piece of paper. She forced on a tight smile and gave it back to Carmen, who beamed at it.

"Thank you so much again!"

Naomi nodded.

"Just let me know when you two are ready to order! I'm taking care of you this evening just for this!" Carmen said as she hurried off back to the kitchen.

"I don't know how you do it Naomi," Gabe said with a smirk. "How can you bask in all this attention and still talk to a mere mortal man like myself?"

Of course he would think that. She knew Antonio Agama was one of his heroes. So, he was like Carmen in that aspect, only seeing the fantasy side of it rather than the gritty reality.

"I just like getting recognition for my work," Naomi said hastily, though she had no idea if she was saying that to reassure Gabe or herself.

“And to go back to your earlier statement: my mom’s an incredible person and a great Captain." Naomi shrugged her shoulders. “I’m just not sure if military life is for me exactly.”

"Well, you don't want to go into it with half-hearted feelings," Gabe said with some of his familiar stern and authoritative tone coming through. "You'll fail very hard and very fast if you do that."

“How did you ever decide you wanted to be a soldier?” Naomi asked earnestly and if she had to admit, a little desperately. “I mean, it would have been easier to be a baker like your father wanted.”

“It certainly would have been,” Gabe mused. “I was so young when I decided to join too, barely 15. The law at the time, under Shuriki, had allowed people to enlist even younger, but I was considered a man by Avaloran Culture and could do what I saw fit regardless of how much my parents protested.”

"15?" Naomi whispered.

It was the same age she had been the day she met Elena. Which had also been the same day that Elena had chosen her to be on the Grand Royal Council, regardless of Naomi's young age and station.

"And you've never regretted it? Even though you were making these huge decisions at 15?"

"Not even for a day."

Despite that not being the answer Naomi had hoped for, she did feel a slight ease in the glow of his unwavering confidence.

Naomi’s eyes flicked down to their hands that weren't interlocked anymore, but now touching knuckle to knuckle. It was always easy to feel so at ease with him, he was one of her best friends. Plus, how could anyone not fall for the strong, and confident, and not to mention handsome General?

And there had been the seedling of a budding romance at one time. However, the two of them decided when Naomi had first sailed out that they would put it aside and just remain friends, and see where they were when their paths would cross once again. There may have been a great deal of flirting, but that mostly came from the fact that they were in fact two very flirtatious people that it came quite naturally to them.

Still, while they had never talked about casual or not-so-casual relationships they’ve had with other people since then, Naomi had in fact had a few flings with people at different ports. Connections that had seemed instant and wonderful, but almost all mutually understanding that they were in the end fleeting. Now, some part of Naomi craved the want for a companion, her ship and her quarters certainly had enough room for two. And it would also certainly be nice to have someone who had more cooking experience than year, and get full use out of the kitchen she had below deck.

However, she could never see Gabe giving up his position that he had worked so hard for and join her on the seas. Not in a million years.

And as for Veronica...last Naomi had heard, she had met a nice pretty widow and was now settled down comfortably with a sugar cane plantation.

Perhaps, Naomi began to wonder, if she went into trade, then that want for company could be filled with a real Clipper and a full crew. After all, sailing was how she acquired so many people that she still referred to in her memories as "cousin," "aunt," and "uncle."

Even then, with that with that solution, her and Gabe possibly...maybe...potentially could handle the long distant relationship like her parents had. Their familiarity and attraction would certainly make it easy, as they always did this drink and flirting meet up when she was docked her. And it would be a surprise to no one if they got more serious. 

But, again, that's not what she wanted. For as much as her heart could beat from attraction, it was also seized with the anxiety of getting hurt again. If she wanted to have another shot at a serious relationship, she wanted it this time to be with someone where it would last. Someone who without a doubt could be able be a partner alongside her. Someone who could make selfless decisions for her as well as compromises. Someone who made her feel truly special.

And while Gabe was a good man and a good friend, it didn't mean they could be a good couple. Especially when she still felt so adrift herself.

Naomi didn't do anything half-heartedly. So, it wasn’t fair to Gabe, or herself, to get his hopes up right now.

"Well, my friend, I will take that to heart and you will be the first to know what I decide and see if our paths align. But don't wait on my account." Naomi's hand went to her choker gems.

Gabe didn't even have to say anything to make it obvious that he caught on to her clumsy metaphor. But, he didn't seem hurt, more like he had expected this based on the small sigh and nod he gave her. 

So, with a smile, he then said matter-of-factly, "Right behind Elena though?"

"Of course, but above Mateo."

Gabe slammed down his tankard. "Wow, I am honored Captain Turner to be of such high rank!"

"Oh, don't be so prickly," Naomi said relieved that the tension was broken as she took another sip of her ale. "You're just still upset because you lost last time when I ate more chili peppers than you."

"First of all, I had a stomach thing last time," Gabe said pointedly, causing Naomi to roll her eyes. "And second, just for that comment, I demand a rematch."

Naomi smiled and slammed down her own tankard in enthusiasm. "Alright, General Nunez, I see to your rematch, as long as you're prepared to lose."

******************

A few hours and several chili peppers later, the two of them walked out of Carmen's restaurant with Naomi the victor once again.

They said their friendly good-byes with a short hug and went their separate ways.

As she reached the port, Naomi thought about heading to her parents house as they had said she was welcomed to her old hammock at any time. Her father would be the only one there though since her mother had left to check on a fishing boat that had taken a bit of damage and had to port in Galonia.

However, despite the late evening, she felt restless, and it wouldn't do anyone any good if she could only just lay there and stare at the ceiling for hours. She decided then to head back to **The WindChaser**.

That turned out to be no different though, for as soon as she got to her ship, she immediately went to her cabin, hung up her hat, and flopped onto her bed fully clothed with her eyes glued to the blue painted ceiling that resembled a clear sunny sky.

She turned to look at her small treasure trove of all the souvenirs she had collected these past two years that should have indicated that she was living a pretty grand life.

So, was it selfish of her that this way of life no longer excited her? She seemed to be living most people's dreams, including hers at one time.

It was pathetic really. She had only been in Avalor for a day and she had already experienced her highest of highs with being reunited with all her family and friends. And now her lowest of lows that she no longer had anything to show for it.

Her friends made it seem so easy. Gabe had been in the Avalor Royal Guard for almost 10 years and had received his high ranking position at 22. Mateo was the Royal Wizard for 6 years now, which had been a position he had been working towards since he was 10 years-old by learning magic in secret so he could follow in the steps of his Grandfather Alacazar. And Elena...Elena had known her place in the world since the day she was born.

So where did that leave Naomi?

What did she want?

Naomi decided to close her eyes and began to break it down: She liked to help others and to keep busy. She wasn't afraid to learn new skills or meet new people. She didn't want to sacrifice the ability of being able to take decisive action. And above all, she wanted to live each day with a sense of accomplishment.

So, with those in mind, that narrowed it down to any job from a Woodcarver to a Doctor. In other words, a million things.

Naomi let out a huff of frustration in how much she was running in circles.

Had it been this difficult for her parents too?

Her parents.

Naomi sat up and suddenly remembered the big spice delivery her dad had mentioned that was coming in tomorrow.

She quickly grabbed her hat and made a break to head back to her parents house, certain she would be able to sleep now that she had a task to look forward to and keep her mind preoccupied. 

Her dad was never one to turn away an extra set of helping hands. And she might as well start back at the basics and work from there in her quest to search for a new purpose. 

Or who knows, perhaps an Ancient God would come down soon and bestow that much needed answer to her. After all, it might not be so bad anymore for one of Mercedes's outlandish stories to finally come true.


	3. A Cry for Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitely the longest chapter I've written yet!

Over the next couple of days, Naomi was able to easily fall back into the old routine she had before she left on her travels. Since the Grand Council had officially dissolved after Elena’s accession to the Throne, Naomi didn't have any work related ties to the Palace, and so her days were instead filled with handling the small jobs around ports.

"Where's this shipment of silk going, Miss Naomi?"

"Which type of silk is it?"

"Looks like it's from Napurna."

She quickly consulted her clipboard. "Then that one is going to Doña Catalena's. I know Sara is heading that direction to deliver Cordoba papayas to Linda's Fruit stand. Maybe you can catch a ride."

"Aye aye ma'am."

Naomi stood on the main deck of **Th** ** **e** Wayfarer, **having just finished taking inventory since her mother had only gotten back late last night, safe and soundly.

Apparently the fishing boat had been damaged beyond repair, but a merchant ship heading to Avalor had stopped by as well. So some impromptu negotiations had been made by Captain Scarlett in terms of trading cargo and making space so that everyone and all their merchandise could be returned unharmed. That was just like her mother, being able to think on her toes, and try and leave no man behind. Which sometimes meant a voyage for 3 months easily became 6, so thankfully enough everything convened here at Avalor this time and she was able to be home relatively on schedule. 

Despite this kind of flighty attitude and it contradicted what her mother had told Naomi when she had returned, she held no resentment for her mother, even when she was growing up. No matter how much she missed her. If anything, Naomi idolized her and hoped that she could be just like her one day in terms of quality of character.

"Miss Naomi!"

Naomi ran over to the side of the ship at the sound of her name and looked down to see a small group gathered on the dock.

"Got a few crates of Avaloran chocolate for Paraiso!"

"Those should have been here hours ago!" Naomi exclaimed as she ran down the gangplank to them.

"Well, it seems they were a special order." Pete looked down at the form and had a quizzical expression come over him. "Pink and heart-shaped?"

Naomi sighed, "That sounds about right. You can send one of the Port Kids to run ahead to the ship. With any luck, they haven't completely loaded up or it will be a week before this order can go out."

"Yes ma'am."

Naomi nodded in response before turning back to her clipboard and loudly blowing a loose piece of her blonde hair from her face that had come out from her small ponytail. It had been such an absolutely crazy morning that Naomi honestly couldn't remember having even a minute to herself since she had hastily eaten a bowl of oatmeal and stepped out the front door of her parent's house; only a blur of orders and conversations in rapid fire Avaloran or in the shared language of Latin, or what traders called "The Descendants Tongue."

Wow. She really had missed this!

A strong hand then clamped down on her shoulder.

"It's good to have you back home Naoms!" Her father said jovially as he pulled her tightly into his side.

"Because I'm a good source of free labor?"

"Now, now. You're no longer living under our roof, so I'll pay you like any other worker." He lifted up his hand to show that he had two apples nestled in the large palm. "But I hope you don't mind me asking if you can join your old man for lunch?"

Naomi tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think I can squeeze you in."

Her father smiled and expertly tossed her one of the apples, so she could easily catch it with one hand.

She had only taken a bite out of the crisp apple before the sounds of frantic steps vibrated the dock boards underneath their feet.

"Harbor Master!"

It was Horacio moving down the dock towards them. Though Naomi couldn't deny it was a bit humorous despite the apparent seriousness of the situation to see him with one hand crushing down his hat to his head and the other arm holding a bunch of loose paper tightly to his chest as he moved in an awkward high-knee run.

" **The Rosebud** just docked."

"What are they doing back?" Daniel asked sternly. "They just left only an hour ago, and we need space for **The Immunity** to dock."

"Apparently there was a last minute order that just arrived this morning from Nueva Vista and Duke Cisco is demanding that it has to be with the current order, no exceptions."

"Again!?"

"I'm afraid so."

Her father pinched the bridge of his nose. It wasn't often she saw her father like this, so felt the only thing she could do was place a hand on his forearm.

"I tell you Naoms, I'm grateful that you and Princess Isabel setup that lighthouse to communicate with the ships or I would at least have 10 more times the problems than I currently have. I already had to rearrange quite a few ships last week since word got around that Norberg had a small outbreak of some kind."

Naomi's eyes widened, she hadn't heard anything like that on her recent travels, and sailors didn't tend to be the best secret keepers.

"No particulars of what exactly it is?"

"None," Her father said, unable to keep the slight annoyance out of his voice. He hated not having all the facts, a trait she shared with him as well. She could never tell though if it was hereditary or because he had taken the larger role in raising her.

"But word trickled around and it's better to be safe than sorry. I should be receiving a letter from Max, er, the Harbor Master from Norberg, but it's taking longer than usual for whatever reason."

"I can talk to Elena," Naomi offered. "Perhaps she could also talk to Cisco about making unreasonable demands. It's her cousin after all. Well, her other, other cousin."

"I appreciate the help Naomi, but would prefer to keep it professional. So I'll write a formal letter to the Queen that this is getting a little out of hand with the Duke and request an audience with her."

"It's **_Elena_ **, Dad," Naomi simply stated, as if that should be answer enough. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"I understand, but it's good practice to keep this up." His face then got serious, which meant that some worldly piece of advice was about to follow. "Favoritism can be both a blessing and curse in disguise."

 _'There's also no problem in using the resources available to you,'_ Naomi thought to herself. She didn't want to say it out loud as it was one of the only things that their family always disagreed with.

"Anyways, go ahead and take your break without me while I sort out this mess."

"But--"

"I know you can help, but you started even earlier than me today," Her father said as he nudged her slightly on her back. "So please take a break now so I can have you fresh-faced for later."

Naomi couldn't fight against logic.

"Fine, but I'll be on **The WindChaser** if you need me!"

"Aye aye Captain!"

Stubborn to the core though, Naomi began walking backwards, keeping an eye on her father - just in case - until she reached the edge of the boardwalk. 

Only then did Naomi comply, and turned on her heels to head towards the docks that hugged closer to one of the City's cliff sides. Here, smaller and more residential boats were all anchored as people paid to have their boats here where they either lived on them, or some of the wealthier citizens had their Pleasure Crafts here to be used on small jaunts around the bay.

Naomi tossed the now gnawed apple core into the water as she climbed aboard her ship and immediately grabbed a small piece of rope. She then used it to wrap around and climb up the main mast and sit aboard the yard. It was her favorite place to be as she could see everything from up here: from the rolling sapphire blue waters to the ships that vanished into that completely flat horizon.

She could only last a few minutes though of feigned relaxation before she began surveying what chores she would need to get done. There was a line of fresh laundry strung across the deck that needed to be put away. The vase full of flowers that Luisa had given to her that first night home were already dying and needed to be replaced. Not to mention the deck was needing a good sweep and mop.

She really was becoming a regular Liveaboard like the rest of the folks here. Maybe if her friends weren't busy they could come over for a poker night.

A shudder ran down her spine as she horrifyingly realized how much that made her sound like her neighbor, Sideways Ian, with his fish head snacks and off tune piano he liked to loudly play at weird times during the day.

Perhaps it would be best if she found another place to dock as soon as possible.

"Ahoy Captain!"

Naomi jumped slightly, but was perfectly able to keep her balance as she looked down to see a small figure waving at her from the dock below. Naomi knew instantly from the sound of her voice that it was Elena.

"Permission to come aboard?"

"Permission granted!" Naomi called back with a salute. "Want me to come down and help you?"

"No, I can still handle small feats like this."

Even as she said that though, one of the guards that had been flanking her stepped forward, and Elena had no choice but to accept the offer as he helped her across the gangplank and safely onto the ship. He then went to join his comrade and dutifully guard the ship and their Queen, even though Naomi was certain there was no danger here. Well, maybe Sideways Ian.

"What happened to your sail?" Elena asked as she pointed up.

Upon first glance, there was nothing wrong with the sail, but when Naomi had first gotten this ship gifted to her from Elena, the original sail had a large and proud Avaloran Crest painted on it.

"Oh, there was a really bad storm when I had been anchored in May-Ling. The whole port got wrecked and I guess some loose wooden boards had been flying around and sliced it up that night."

One of those boards had also smashed into the side of Naomi's cabin, where she had been taking cover, and decimated the small port window, causing the howling wind and rain to seep in. But she decided to leave that detail out for now.

"We can commission a new one for you," Elena immediately offered.

"Thanks, but this is a great sail, and I would hate to be wasteful." Naomi tilted her head and contemplated. "I'll gladly take a new flag though since that also got destroyed."

Elena shot her what Naomi thought was a thumbs up. "Deal!"

"Actually, better double check on that," Naomi said hastily. "I might already have a spare flag. And if I do it would be down in the hold underneath the trap door, can you check?"

Two simultaneous grunts of quick disapproval then pierced the air. Naomi looked to see the two bodyguards quickly fixing their stiff posture.

"Sure thing!" Elena yelled back, ignoring the Guards completely. "Oh! I'll use far-sight real quick!"

Elena's hand instinctively went to her hip, but she quickly retreated when she realized that her Royal Scepter was no longer at her side.

"I can see you're handling the 'no magic' rule swimmingly," Naomi said smugly.

While Naomi hadn't cared for it for most of her life, as the average person in the EverRealm could live day to day without magic, she had come to learn from her experience in Avalor the basics of Magic.

Magic was usually broken up into four ways: by either wielders of a magic-infused item, natural traits passed down genetically (such as talking to animals), being cursed or gifted by wielders, or just being born a mythical creature, like Jaquins or Sirenas.

But there were always phenomena and outliers.

Elena had been both gifted magic due to her being inadvertently trapped in a magical amulet for 41 years which in turn allowed her to use her Royal Scepter, which itself turned out to be an ancient Maruvian wizard's staff. Then there was that incident a few years ago when she had fallen into a magical well at Takaina without her scepter. Luckily, it had not been needed as it turned out that she only was gifted an almost natural sort of magic by her emotions causing different types of magical abilities and were indicated by what color her dress became.

However, even after many years of training, Elena's stamina and tolerance had built up that she no longer felt fatigued until she used an excessive amount of magic and she could keep her emotions in check, it was still too much of a risk to use with her now with child.

Which had to be the only reason that Elena allowed to have bodyguards tailing her now.

At least they were trained to only make disapproving noises now, rather than circling her so tightly that she can't even raise so much as a finger as they had once done before their Queen had defeated sorceresses, and Malvagos, and thieves, and the literal forces of darkness themselves. Just to name a few.

"Wow, got enough flags Naomi?" Elena asked as she began digging through the piles of flags that were stored under the trapdoor.

"A hobby of mine!" Naomi began to explain as she decided to join her friend on the dock. She navigated around the mast to begin her descent downward. Once her rope was secure, she allowed gravity to slide her down the mast and land on her feet with a solid thud.

"Once we started moving around a lot more after I turned about five, I wanted to have something with me to remember the places I went," Naomi continued as she joined Elena in the search. "I ended up choosing flags because I always thought that the work and colors that went into them were incredible."

Elena gave her an earnest smile and her eyes softened, clearly taken by Naomi's genuine answer. She always was.

"Well, it looks like you already have one," Elena declared as she reached in deep and produced a great Avaloran flag that still retained it's vibrant colors. "So, looks like you'll have to let me know what else I can get you as I am, in a way, your lovely benefactor."

"Deal," Naomi said this time.

Elena gave her another bright smile before moving to get back up.

"Here, allow me your majesty," Naomi said in an exaggerated tone. "It's already a great insult for you to have been sitting on your Royal butt for so long." And thanks to all that muscle she had gained during the past three years, she swiftly pulled Elena to her feet. 

As Elena smoothed down the front of her skirts, Naomi realized that Elena must have been dressed down for the welcome party as she had been styled to have her long thick hair pulled back into a ponytail and her simple off the shoulder red dress.

Now, as Queen to the public, her hair was styled into an intricate bun gathered at the base of her neck. Her red dress had a complex and detailed beaded bodice of maroon and gold in the shape of diamonds and roses that stopped just above her small baby bump. All that coupled with her Crown, long gold teardrop earrings, and necklace, and one would have to be an absolute idiot to not know that this beautiful woman was the Queen of Avalor. Maybe even Queen of the world.

However, Elena chose this moment to childishly stick her tongue out at Naomi and shattered the illusion a little. She then reached into her dress to produce a small silver hip flask. The same small flask that Naomi had given to Elena for her 21st birthday from her journey to Enchancia.

"Ummm, Elena?"

"Oh relax, it's just some kind of old Maruvian tea recipe that Mateo found." Elena passed the flask to Naomi.

She accepted the flask and took a generous swig before she practically spat it back out.

“Oh my Gods!” Naomi exclaimed through a violent cough. “This tastes like sweaty feet.”

“Tastes fine to me,” Elena said with a shrug as she took an unabashedly large gulp that caused Naomi to wrinkle her nose.

“And honestly, anything to help with this morning sickness is welcomed. Though, everyone seems to have their own opinion on how I should be handling this pregnancy.”

"When you say everyone, do you mean Rafa?" Naomi asked blatantly, as she had gotten plenty of first hand experiences of just how domineering Elena's mother-in-law can be. 

"Yes, but I really do mean EVERYONE." Elena sighed and flopped down onto one of the fold out chairs that Naomi had set up for late night stargazing. "In fact, I just came from checking on the progress of the new Black pepper plant fields, which are growing nicely ever since it was decided that they be moved closer to Tepet Muul if I do say so myself."

"Which will be needed for the upcoming Feast of Friendship, of course."

"Yes, exactly. Anyways, as I was just walking by, some older woman stopped working just to tell me I should be eating a lot of mango before immediately continuing her work!"

Naomi blinked in confusion. "Why mango?"

"I don't know!" Elena exclaimed, throwing up her arms. "Someone else told me to eat coconut because it's said that a lot of coconut will produce a healthy heir and a good future ruler, but then another told me that it was actually coffee."

"You should just ask your grandparents what your mother did while she was pregnant with you and Isabel since you two seemed to turn out alright," Naomi said as she pushed the other lounge chair right next to Elena and took a seat in it.

Elena gave her a bemused look. "How is it that you can compliment someone and yet it still has just enough of a sarcastic tone to it that is also could possibly be an insult?"

Naomi shrugged. "It's a gift, born with it and can't get rid of it."

The young Queen rolled her eyes.

"Seriously though, Reina's not even due for another 5 months," said Elena exhausted as she laid her head back against the chair and closed her eyes.

"I'm honestly just surprised it took you this long to get pregnant," Naomi said with a smirk. "Thought you and Mateo would run into this situation before you even walked down the aisle."

"Hey, I drank my moon tea responsibly, same as you," Elena said defensively as she pointed a finger at her.

"And yet only one of us is pregnant."

Naomi then put on a more serious expression. "You're not regretting it, are you?"

"No, of course not." Elena nibbled on her lip a little. "It's just...different. Thinking that I'm going to be a mother soon. It took me three years before I became Queen, two years before I became a wife, and now less than a year before I become a mother."

Elena reached over and grabbed Naomi's hand.

"I'm really glad you're back. It's nice to have my best friend with me."

Naomi couldn't resist. "Best friend behind Mateo though, right?"

"Oh no you don't, I am not doing that whole thing again!" Elena exclaimed. "Especially since last time that argument happened with Gabe and Mateo, we almost ended up on a ghost party ship playing tops for all of eternity."

"Relax, I don't mind being behind him," Naomi said, thinking about what she had told Gabe at dinner the other night. "Would only be fair."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Your majesty!"

The two women turned to see a young girl running up the dock at an alarming rate as she tightly clutched her mailbag to keep it from bouncing around violently. Everyone seemed to be in a panic today. She came to a grinding halt as the Guards tightened their defensive wall at the gangplank.

“It's okay, you can let Diana approach,” Elena said in a clear and commanding tone with a small forward hand gesture.

In frightening unison, the guards parted to allow the young girl to come through.

“This letter just arrived for you, your grace,” Diana said as she presented her a rolled up and very weathered and beaten up scroll. It was very discolored and the edges were all heavily frayed. It would be a miracle if the contents were still legible by this point.

"Said it was urgent when it arrived at the post stop and I had to bring it to you directly."

Naomi and Elena shared a concerned glance.

Elena took the scroll gingerly so as to not damage it any more. "Thank you Diana."

The girl gave a quick bow before exiting the ship without the need for an official dismissal.

Once she was a ways away so that they had a bit more privacy, Elena ran her finger over the wax seal and Naomi instantly recognized the artistic rendering of an eight pointed star.

Elena reaffirmed Naomi's recognition as she said, "It's from the Royal family in Norberg."

Elena quickly broke open the seal and began reading. Naomi leaned over a little to see if she could catch any part of the letter, but Elena suddenly brought the scroll closer to her face, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Is it about anything concerning the rumored epidemic going on in Norberg?"

But her friend remained silent, her sharp brown eyes roaming quickly over the page as her mouth muttered along in a low tone.

The seriousness was unnerving to Naomi that she then asked a question to try and break the tension and get Elena to talk to her.

“Is it another letter congratulating you on the baby?”

Still no response.

“Elena?”

"It's a call for help," She gravely said, her eyes scanning faster and faster.

"Help for what?"

Elena shook her head. "Queen Abigail says she can't give out the specifics for fear of this letter being intercepted. But she says she knows for certain that her and her daughter Chloe's very lives may be threatened by some visiting Royals."

"Then why is she calling for Avalor and not somewhere closer like Hectoria or Maarswik?"

"It's because she heard rumors that one of these people used to..."

Elena let out a small gasp and her pupils constricted to almost pinpoints in her brown irises.

"That they used to be a part of the Royal Council from the Northern Isles."

"The Northern Isles!?" Naomi exclaimed, jumping up to her feet. "Like the birthplace and Kingdom Shuriki used to rule before she usurped Avalor! Those Northern Isles!?"

Elena's hand went protectively to her stomach and she seemed to pale, well, pale as much as she could for her dark skin tone. Her dress then began to change to purple, and Naomi knew it might not be long before things literally began to spin.

She felt a pang of guilt at her overreaction, knowing how much this hurt Elena. She quickly sat back down and put a protective arm around Elena to keep her steady.

Elena leaned forward slightly, attempting to put her head between her legs and took some deep calming breaths. Slowly, the dress's color changed from purple to back to red.

She nodded her head, indicating that she was fully calm again as Naomi helped her sit back upright.

Naomi didn't know how Elena could live this way, always having to keep herself in check, it couldn't be entirely healthy.

"There's something else too, _mi amiga_ ," Elena squeezed Naomi's hand. "She requests the assistance of Admiral Captain Scarlett Turner."

That alarmed Naomi, as she quickly turned the letter to her so she could read that for herself. Sure enough, there was the title that she had only heard from stories, in Queen Abigail's slanted handwriting that Naomi had gotten accustomed to seeing during her council career.

"My mom hasn't been called that in years," Naomi said softly. "I mean, she was a part of the Norberg Royal Navy a long time ago with my dad as her First Mate. But they were honorably discharged and went into the trade business sometime shortly before I was born."

"But I thought your mom was going to be offered an Admirals position a few years ago? So, she had been one before?"

"Yeah, but that was after 15 years had passed, which is why it shocked me so much that time when she wanted to go back to it."

Elena tentatively turned the piece of paper back to her, she gave the letter one more glance over before rolling it back up.

“I think I want to call for a Grand Council Meeting."

Naomi raised her eyebrows. "But--"

"Yes, I know it doesn't exist anymore, and as Queen I have absolute authority." Elena raised up the scroll. "But this situation is going to affect so many of us that I wouldn't feel right unless I consult with everyone first."

Naomi nodded in agreement. "Alright, when do you want to do it?"

"Right now," Elena said determinedly as she jumped up to her feet, further proving that all the earlier fussing had been unnecessary.

"Lieutenant Villalobos and Lieutenant Vasquez."

The two soldiers swiftly turned on their heels to face Elena.

"Please find Harbor Master Daniel Turner and Captain Scarlett Turner and ask them to come to the Palace as soon as possible."

She paused.

"And you better also ask Doña Paloma to come, she was a member."

Both Guards nodded in understanding.

"What about you, your majesty? How will you get back?" Lieutenant Villalobos asked.

Elena didn't reply and instead put both her pinkies in her mouth and let out a large whistle.

Not even a minute passed by before a large yellow with green spotted Jaquin landed in front of the group.

" _Hola Princesa!_ "

"Nico!" Elena said as she affectionately cupped the Guardian's furry face.

Nico certainly wasn't the cub that Naomi remembered when he had first come over for his guardian training. In fact, he looked to be full grown now.

"Can you give me and Naomi a ride back to the palace and fast please?"

"Fast is my specialty, _Princesa!_ " Nico said, bowing down so Elena could easily climb on. Looked like the nickname that his older brother Skylar had given Elena wasn't going away any time soon.

Elena took her position, her voluminous red skirt puffing out around her and almost burying the Jaquin.

"Oof!" Nico wheezed out.

"Oh come on," Elena said in an offended tone. "I haven't gained that much weight yet with the baby!"

"I think it's more from the dress than you, _Princesa_ ," Nico said in an obviously strained voice.

Naomi quickly followed suit and got behind Elena, arms securely holding her friend's waist.

"General Nunez isn't going to like that you're riding, your majesty," Lieutenant Vasquez said pleadingly.

"Then General Nunez and I can have another nice long chat soon about who the Queen is again."

And with that, Nico spread out his large wings and they shot up smoothly into the sky.

Naomi tightened her hold on Elena and pressed her legs tightly into Nico's sleek body. It's not that she was afraid of heights, as she had been walking the yards of large ships since she was a child. Or that she didn't trust the Jaquins, as they were the most loyal mythical creatures and Guardians one could ask for. However, there was something that always felt a little unnatural about flying in the sky, going higher than anything mortal human had intended, that put Naomi on edge.

True to his word though, Nico had them back to the castle in record time and dropped them off smoothly at the large balcony of Elena and Mateo's room.

The Queen gave the Guardian a quick thank you before the pair of them disappeared inside.

Elena had her arm immediately looped through Naomi's for any support she might need as they moved quickly through the bedroom and then out into the Palace hallways, passing by servants who instantly came to attention and bowed.

"Welcome Home, your Majesty!" Armando proclaimed as he suddenly materialized at their side, though he was clearly out of breath.

"Armando, I need you to find Mateo, my Abuelos, and Esteban and ask them to report to the Grand Council Room immediately. This is a priority one."

"Oh dear," Armando said as worried lines creased his forehead. "Yes, your grace."

Once Armando was out of sight, Elena hiked the front of her skirt up high and sped up so that they were now jogging.

The two of them were the first to arrive at the Grand Council Room. It hadn't changed at all even though Naomi hadn't been in this room for at least a year. There were a few large bookshelves filled with books of recorded meeting minutes from the several hundred meetings that had been held in this room, a large map of the entire EverRealm painted one wall, and a few portraits of the last few ruling Monarchs of Avalor hanging on the others walls. And in the middle of the room was a semi-circle Grand Council table and five chairs.

Naomi didn't let go of Elena's arm until she was sitting firmly in the middle chair.

"Oh, this is going to be a long pregnancy if I'm already winded," Elena huffed out.

Before Naomi could ask if there was anything she could do for her friend, a large cloud of magical Golden smoke appeared in the center of the room.

"I'm here!" Mateo's voice rang out as he appeared out of the puff of smoke.

He was dressed today for his station as well, as he wore his official Crimson Royal Wizard robe with gold and Emerald trimming. He even had on his matching crimson half-cape on as well that displayed his status as a Master Wizard, and hung from one shoulder and had a large embroidered Sun-Bird on it that matched his Tamborita.

"Are my girls okay?" Mateo asked as he ran over and knelt down in front of his wife with a hand going to her tummy.

"We're fine, we're both fine, I promise," Elena reassured him.

"What's wrong then? Am I here as Master Royal Wizard or Prince Consort?"

"Yet to be determined, but your presence is always welcomed by your Queen." Elena said as she placed a hand on his cheek and her dress turned a bright pink.

Assured that Elena was now safely in Mateo's hands and care, Naomi took a hasty step back from the couple in order to leave the clout of love induced magic that Elena's dress was emanating.

Naomi decided to turn her attention to the large portrait that hung behind them. Last time she had been in this room, the portrait of the late King Raul and Queen Lucia, Elena's parents, had been here. Now, Elena's portrait was here and inside the ancient frame, whose years Naomi could feel as she grazed her fingers over the crafted old metal.

It was then that she saw some words etched into the base of the frame that she had never noticed before. What was surprising is that they weren't Avaloran, or even Maruvian, but rather an Ancient form of Latin.

Naomi only had a limited knowledge of it as it appeared more towards the Classic Maruvian Period rather than her chosen field of Ancient Maruvian.

Before she could begin to try and decipher it, the rest of the group began to appear and assemble.

Luisa, Francisco, Esteban, and Doña Paloma went to fill the other empty seats. Gabe took a spot next to the door of the Grand Council room, and Mateo went to tuck himself away by standing near one of the bookshelves. Everyone was dressed in their best, looking like they belonged perfectly in this palace.

Naomi went to go take her place by her humbly dressed parents who were the last to enter and the most confused looking. It was slightly awkward to not be sitting in her usual spot next to Luisa, but Doña Paloma had fairly taken over her position when Naomi had left.

"Come Naomi," Francisco then said as he pulled out his chair a little more. "You are more than welcome to have my seat."

Naomi raised up her hands in protest. "Oh no, I'm fine."

"I insist. After all, I have no problem standing behind beautiful women," He gestured to Luisa on the other side of the table. 

The older woman only shook her head, but still had a smile on her face.

"Then, if you're absolutely sure," said Naomi as she took off her hat in respect and hung it on the chair before sitting down.

Now Francisco was exactly what Naomi envisioned when people talked about the perfect gentleman in his calm and collected demeanor. Though, Elena had told her about his younger years as the infamous vigilante _El Capitán_. What Naomi wouldn't give to see that side of him as well.

"Then have my seat Abuelo," Esteban suddenly said as he got up.

The old man chuckled. "I'm still capable of standing, _neito_."

"I insist." Esteban replied back, a genuine smile on his face.

Francisco gave him a grateful nod before taking his offer.

"If we're done playing musical chairs, I would like to know what is so important that it has to take me from my successful and very busy business," Doña said snidely.

"Of course. This meeting will now commence," Elena said as she pounded down the gavel. "First, I want to thank you all for coming on such short notice. I'm afraid I have the most pressing news."

Elena began to relay the events leading up to her receiving the letter, and then all the contents of the letter itself. Everyone reacted in the way that was expected, especially when the Northern Isles were mentioned. 

Even Esteban's formal stance wavered slightly.

"I can see that everyone feels just as strongly about this as I do. And it's why we must come up with the best tactical solution in aiding our ally."

"Well, you can count on me to go straight to Norberg as soon as possible." Scarlett said boldly. "We may live in Avalor, but we still have our Norberg blood, pride, and citizenship."

Her mother then uncharacteristically sighed heavily. "And I owe Abby a lot."

"But we still don't know who or what we're up against," Francisco interjected.

"You must know something about this, Chancellor," Doña asked over the top of her fan. "After all, you were loyal to Shuriki for many, many years."

Esteban then slammed his hands on the table so loudly that even Naomi jumped.

"I did not hear you complaining about her when you were sitting very pretty in that little Emporium of yours!"

"Little!?"

A quick flash of orange appeared on Elena's dress before it disappeared and she shouted, "Enough!"

Esteban and Doña shot one more venomous glare at each other before leaning back.

" _Primo,_ " Elena said softly. "I would hate to ask you this, but would you be willing to go to Norberg with Captain Scarlett and see if you can possibly recognize who this Royal might be?"

If Naomi hadn't been sitting so close to him, she might have not noticed the small bob in his throat that was hidden just under his cravat.

"There are many that I never met, but only kept correspondence with." He then turned his eyes fully to his cousin. "But I will do what I can."

That was good enough for Elena as she gave him a small nod.

"Are you okay to travel to Norberg even though there might be an outbreak of some kind of disease?" Daniel asked assuredly. "Scarlett and Naomi are vaccinated, but have you ever traveled to Norberg, Chancellor?"

"I'm touched by your worry, but please be at ease. I am safe against a multitude of diseases."

Something about the way he said that didn't sit right with Naomi, but she didn't have time to ponder as Elena kept the conversation moving.

“Alright, let’s get a ship set up and all three of us will sail out as soon as possible.” Elena turned to Daniel. "Is tomorrow morning even possible?"

"Yes, conditions have been preferable that nothing should deter us..." He noticeably trailed off.

“What?”

“It’s too risky, Elena,” Gabe then said from his post. "This is an unknown battle we're going into for one. And there's also your...condition."

"Local women already work down in the fields and in shops everyday while pregnant," Elena argued. “Not to mention that Maruvian stories tell us that women went into battle while pregnant too!”

"Elena, I have a bad feeling about this if you were to go," Esteban said. And to a close few, they knew that he didn't say that lightly. He had said the same thing when recounting about his parents going out on the Voyage where they met their demise.

"And we don't know if the rumors about the Norberg epidemic are real or not," Doña interjected. "And I may have nothing, even in my vast supply, that could help you."

“Plus Norberg is already in it’s stormy season,” Naomi added, speaking for the first time during this meeting. "Besides the freezing weather, the water's get really rough, that even a massive ship could easily be bobbing like a cork. Worst case scenario is that it completely capsizes."

Luisa leaned towards her granddaughter. "Not to mention with this being your first pregnancy, it's been known that women are more likely to miscarry during this time."

Elena took all their worries to heart. Her mouth was pressed into a hard line.

All eyes immediately turned to Mateo, Elena's included. He had always been Elena's shadow, and he still held that position now, even with Prince Consort having been added to his long list of titles.

He understood the looks and approached her chair, kneeling down right next to it again and taking her hand.

“You are brave and fearless, _mi amor_ , no one is denying you that. And I know you’re worried about Queen Abigail, but we also have to put our child before anything else."

His voice then dropped into a whisper, but Naomi was still close enough that she could hear him. "We also promised each other that we would always do what we could so that our children would never have to know that void of growing up without a parent or parents, like we did. Like so many of us in this room already have.”

Leave it to Mateo to cut right to the heart of the matter.

Elena gave him a nod, and despite being in a formal meeting, she leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

"I appreciate everyone's concern on this matter," Elena said as she straightened herself up tall and Mateo moved to stand behind her chair. "So, I will make the wise decision, and stay here in Avalor while I trust my representatives."

Elena then gestured her hand out.

“However, I would like to send Naomi in my place.”

"Me?" Naomi said, completely floored.

There really was no reason for her to go. Sure, she would want to make sure her mother would be okay, but she wasn't a soldier and she wasn't a diplomat either. Her role on the council had been to be Elena's friend and confidant, a festival planner, and largely to be a mouthpiece for plights of the common people down in the city.

“Elena, I can assure you I can handle this myself,” Esteban interjected. "You don't need to send any kind of...collateral to make sure it gets taken care of."

"Hey!" Naomi exclaimed, highly offended.

“You probably could, cousin,” Elena said with a small shrug. “But we are also in the presence of an accomplished explorer, who speaks multiple languages, has risen and succeeded every project I've given her, and is a Norberg native. If anything goes sideways, I know Naomi will be able to handle it and figure a way to get you all out of it.”

Elena gave Naomi a wink. 

Naomi couldn't help but blush a little at her friend's praise before throwing back her blonde hair and looking up at Esteban defiantly. This did not make him happy in the slightest.

“And I keep telling you that politics is more than swinging a sword,” Esteban pressed on. “It is a skill that takes intense learning and instinct.”

"It has been decided by your Queen, Chancellor," Elena said firmly.

A small amount of tension filled the air before Esteban conceded and even gave her a half-hearted bow. "Yes, your majesty."

Gabe then took a few steps forward so that he now stood in the center of the room. "If I may request your Majesty, I would like to stay here in Avalor to completely ensure your safety and be ready to take any necessary actions depending on what we discover in Norberg. But rest assure, I will be sending my best men with the group, you can count on that."

"Thank you. I know I can count on you, Gabe."

Elena then stood up and moved her head from side to side so that she could address the entire room.

"I want all of our immediate attention on getting a ship and a crew together. You'll all head out on the soonest tide tomorrow morning. Any other questions?"

No one actually said anything, even though there were countless worried eyes, Doña fanning herself in a flitted way, and Esteban with a certain clench to his jaw that only annoyed Naomi.

Elena took this silence at face value though as she picked up her gavel and slammed it down. "Meeting adjourned."


	4. The Phony King of Norberg

There had been little fanfare when the Norberg reconnaissance group had departed the next morning from Avalor's shores, on schedule with the first streams of sunlight coming over the horizon

That had been the intention though, as this was to be a somewhat covert operation, and it was the reason they were taking **The Wayfarer** rather than **The Royal Galleon.**

However, it was quite difficult to be covert when it came to Royals, especially once Esteban was spotted being dropped off by the Royal carriage with several trunks, and a few citizens pointed and whispered as he boarded. Still, Naomi had taken the necessary precautions by sharing her good-byes with her friends at the palace last night.

At the very least, her father was able to come by and see her and her mother off.

"I really think you should let me go with you, Scarlett," He insisted again as the last few items were being loaded onboard.

"And as I said, I need you to stay and keep an eye on the Homefront as there's no one I trust more to be here than you." Scarlett planted her hands on her hips. "And I think you also know better than anyone to not defy your Captain's orders."

Daniel let out a deep amused chuckle.

"Then, safe travels to you, Captain Turner," Her father said, placing an obscenely dramatic kiss on her mother's lips.

"And to you as well, Captain Turner," He bent down and placed a kiss to Naomi's brow. He really wasn't going to let that joke go.

The two of them boarded with their heads held high, but watched him as he stood at the end of the dock, until he was nothing but a formless speck.

The Voyage to Norberg took about a week to get there, even with the unusually great weather conditions. Though, Naomi could hardly be relaxed as trailing them the entire time was a ring of rolling, dark clouds. She placed an extra kiss to the lucky horseshoe her mother brought on each voyage just to be safe, hoping the clouds wouldn't trap them in Norberg.

Esteban had chosen to stay reserved in his Quarters pretty much the entire time. This only made Naomi curious to know what exactly he was up to. After all, there were only so many naps someone could take in a day. At least she knew he was still alive, from the occasions when he came out onto the Quarter deck, breathing in the salty breeze with an air of content she had only seen on a handful of occasions.

He was saved from her interrogations though, as her mother kept her busy, and Naomi didn't want to miss even a second of this golden opportunity of being able to see Captain Scarlett Turner in action.

Her father had entertained a small Naomi with bedtime stories of her fearless Captain Mother, who inspired and gained many loyal people to her wherever she went. And now with her own two eyes, Naomi recognized plenty of people from her mother's past voyages, who even though they were no doubt surprised by the last minute mission, chose to drop everything and be under her command once more. And even the new members, including the guards Gabe had assigned, were quickly pulled into Scarlett's charismatic grasp as she chose to dine in the mess hall with the rest of the Crew than her Captain's quarters, take on her fair share of watch shifts, and even play poker when there was the occasional down time, accepting her defeats with her gruff and low laugh.

Naomi would be lying though if she didn't admit that she was also happy that she had been finally relegated to official Quartermaster for this trip, proudly standing at the helm of this massive beauty of a ship. While she was nothing like Naomi's schooner and required a lot more muscle power and long hours of being stationary, the young Captain wouldn't trade it for any of the other positions she had previously had. Especially cabin girl. While, yes, she understood that every job on a ship was important, Naomi could still feel the phantom pains of swabbing the deck for hours on end.

The whole voyage had been such a surreal experience that Naomi almost -- almost -- forgot what kind of situation they were heading into. Her mother reminded the crew of this fact after dinner, instructing everyone to be on their guard and were not to leave this ship under any circumstances unless ordered by her, Esteban, or Naomi, and to get a good nights rest.

Despite her mother's orders though, when William had been looking rather green later on, apparently reacting badly to that nights clam chowder, Naomi happily offered to take his late night watch instead.

Now here she was, in the dead of night, standing closely at the helm, eyes peeled against the dark waves for any sight of danger. Except there wasn't any movement or even any sign of life, besides Marco, who was up in the crow's nest.

So, after a few monotonous minutes passed, Naomi decided to turn her attention to the barrel she had set up beside her as a makeshift table, where her map laid on top. She carefully brought the burning lantern closer as it was her only light source. She then grabbed her pencil and consoled her map carefully.

It wasn't unlike any other map one might find, except Naomi had gone through and circled the locations that she had visited throughout her lifetime. And upon reflection, it was almost humorous to see that even after three years of traveling, she had barely made a dent in the 17 seas.

For now though, she focused on the couple of charted courses she had drawn out. All just in case they really did need to make a speedy getaway from Norberg. Which included: where they could stop if they ran out of food, where to stop if they ran out of water, and where they could stop if they needed extra ammunition. Again, just in case.

Honestly, she couldn't do any more planning until they got to Norberg and she could scope out for the finer details. In particular, how high the castle walls were and how long it would take to scale them. This was truly the only time wished she had lived in Norberg for a longer period of time before she had began her nomadic life.

Suddenly, the sound of squeaky door hinges pierced the air. Naomi circled around, her hand flying to her dagger.

It turned out to only be Esteban.

However, rather than giving her any kind of remark, he completely ignored her as he didn't even so much as look over at the helm and instead went over to the side of the bridge deck. He propped up his foot like some kind of swash buckling adventurer and stared out into the distance.

Naomi silently moved to look around him, but didn't see anything.

When a few more minutes stretched on, Naomi decided to break the silence. "You know it's bad for you to stare too deeply into the water."

Esteban jumped with a start and Naomi could have sworn she actually heard him swore in Avaloran.  
When the Chancellor realized it was her, he quickly released his chest that he had been dramatically clutching and sighed in annoyance while he stuffed something into his pocket.

"Miss Turner," He said standing extra tall. "I did not realize this would be your watch."

"I switched with William." Naomi eye's turned back to the dark sea ahead of her. "Not a problem with that, is there?"

"Not at all."

She expected him to leave at that juncture, however, she didn't hear the sound of his footsteps. But, if he wanted to stand here in silence next to her, it wouldn't bother her. It wasn't unlike the silence back when the two of them would arrive early to those first few Council meetings, waiting for Luisa and Francisco to show up on time, and Elena to show up late, and there hadn't been enough good natured snark built up in their repertoire yet. So it wasn't uncomfortable, just extremely rare.

“You’re going to break Elena’s heart if you leave so soon.”

Naomi turned to him sharply and saw that he was looking down at her map.

“Oh, no I was just doing some last minute planning for Norberg. You know, doing what Elena assigned me to do. Besides, I’m not planning on leaving today, or even tomorrow, or..." Naomi let herself unintentionally trail off, but quickly recovered. "And we both know how strong Elena is, so I didn't think you would be so concerned."

"Of course I would," Esteban said proudly. "I have always had to be the one to look out for her. She was always the immature one, even during the time when we were once closer in age."

"And here I've heard that you were the one that was the handful."

Esteban scoffed. "And who exactly did you hear that from?"

"Your grandparents."

"Ah," He said, his mouth hanging open. "Uh, well...they tend to exaggerate like most grandparents, as you know."

Naomi actually didn't know, having lost her last living grandfather to a Sirena attack before she was even born, which left her with an already very limited family tree.

Esteban knew this and caught himself. He avoided her gaze awkwardly. "I apologize."

"It's fine," Naomi said hastily.

A maddening pause began to grow.

"Just, don't think of me as being so cold-hearted Esteban," Naomi said in attempt to fill the silence that was no longer feeling comfortable. "There's no way I would leave without telling Elena and she fully understands my lifestyle. I just like to keep an open mind.”

"Well, just for your information, if I were to go plan an expedition, I would follow the ancient Silk trade route." Esteban said unprompted.

He grabbed the pencil and began tracing a new path. "While Avalor, or what was ancient Maru, is in the middle of it, you can follow it downward to Aciloth. There, you can enter the city under the colossal statue of the Sun God Baodith, that is supposed to be over 300 feet tall. Then you follow it to Edesa and it would actually be best if you could leave your ship docked and travel inland to what remains of the Great Sky library. Most of the books were destroyed during the Burning Siege, but the building it still there. Then, you can make your last stop in the Kingdom of Wuni. It's best to be your last stop, since it would require a bit of traveling from the shore to be able to visit the Great Wall. And really what's the point of going there if you don't go see that. And finally you can catch the Purple Sea currents which will carry you back to Avalor."

Naomi looked down at the map, her mouth agape. She had of course heard about all these wonders of the EverRealm, but had never known of this great route that perfectly encapsulated everything! She was actually feeling the itch for travel again.

However, Naomi's ingrained skepticism took over and she looked back to Esteban curiously. "That's quite a lot of planning to have on a whim."

This seemed to catch him off guard. He placed down the pencil and loudly cleared his throat.

"Yes, well, I taught several subjects by my Royal tutors growing up, including Geography and History, so I'm just incredibly knowledgeable." Esteban placed his hands behind his back. "So I thought I would at least offer you this insight to places you haven't been to yet, and help expand your mind. Plus, you wouldn't want a repeat any of the troubles you've gotten into in the past."

That surprised her. He never expressed about caring about her travels any time she visited before. So how did he know? Unless...

"You've read Mercedes's stories? The ones about my travels?"

"Of course I don't read those ridiculous, bloated, and dis-proportioned stories that are being sold in that book store. I, at least, have class."

Naomi sighed, concluding that his arrogance must had made him have a lucky guess.

Another silence started again, and Naomi felt this stopping and pausing was starting to annoy her, so she took another stab at some conversation.

“Elena would still probably want to be here right now."

“I know she would, but she made a smart decision.”

Naomi knew where this was going. “Because it was partially your idea?”

“This is true,” Esteban said, lightly stroking his beard. “But, I’ve lost my family more than once, I don’t intend to let that happen again if I have the power to stop it.”

Naomi smiled at that. It was nice to hear the moments that he sounded like an actual caring human being.

"It was probably a bit a luck though that we got her to agree to stay in Avalor," Naomi continued. “With enough grit and determination, Elena would always jump in to help an ally, even if she was about to give birth.”

"Now that would truly be the stupidest thing she could possibly do."

Naomi rolled her eyes at his exaggeration. Esteban had in fact quite the list of what he deemed the stupidest things Elena could do over the years.

Esteban continued, “Besides Elena and the child’s safety, if her child was born in Norberg and not Avalor, it could cause some controversy.”

Naomi’s eyebrows furrowed together. “How so?”

“Well, let’s say this child grows up and is ready to ascend to the Throne,” Esteban said as he leaned against the railing. “If another Royal Avaloran family would rather take control, they could make a claim that because the child was born in Norberg it is truly not a Avaloran child and therefore would have no claim to that seat of power.”

“Even though the mother and father are of Avaloran descent, not to mention the rulers?” Naomi scoffed, “That’s quite the leap in logic.”

“People will use anything they can in order to acquire power, especially other Royals,” Esteban said plainly. “And it's not like it hasn't happened in the past, Avalor is an Absolute primogeniture.”

"Meaning?"

"The Crown is passed down to the Monarch's eldest child, so even a drop of Royal blood could get you in line for the throne. And as Chancellor, you learn who is connected to who in every possible way to boldly defend the monarch against these scrupulous legalities. Thereby singlehandedly keeping the entire Kingdom in balance."

Naomi shook her head, the whole thing sounded so ridiculous that Esteban was probably just making a big deal out of nothing as usual.

"Wow, so you actually do have a job at the Palace," Naomi retorted sarcastically. "I just thought you spent most of your days having lover spats with Doña Paloma."

"Lover?" Esteban visibly shuddered. "Please don't insult me, Miss Turner. I wouldn't willingly go near that woman even if I was on fire and she had the only bucket of water in the entire Kingdom."

Naomi laughed. "Well said."

The sound of a bell then rang out from the Crow's nest. Two rings.

"Looks like it's time to be changing watches soon," Naomi stated, feeling a sudden fatigue washing over her and already imagining the warm hammock she had set up for herself in the Captain's Quarters.

"Then I will retire back to my Quarters as well, I have a few more things to go over."

Esteban promptly began to walk away. However, he suddenly turned around and was back at her side.

"Thank you for the company and good night."

He said this with all the stuffy formality that he normally had, but is mouth was not quite in such a firm line and the furrow between his brow not quite so prominent.

She decided to respond to what seemed like a genuine response with a small smile. "Anytime, and a good night to you as well."

******************

"Land ho!" Marco's voice crowed out.

Everyone immediately came to attention as **The Wayfarer** passed Gibsbeak Island and the Kingdom of Norberg came into view. It was a completely cloudless day, the bright blue sky stretched for miles and miles and attached itself to the crystal snow capped mountains, which were so clear that Naomi could've of sworn she could see every detail of the mountains even without a spyglass.

Naomi had only ever been to her "home country" only three times in her life, and only two she could remember.

The most recent had been a few years ago during the Kingdom's big family day celebration, with beautiful decorations and general merrymaking.

From a distance, it didn't seem that different. But the closer they got, the more Naomi got a gut feeling that something wasn't right, and she had been to enough ports in her life to back up this feeling.

Most of the ships docked seemed to be eerily deserted and the barnacle build up on the hull's suggested they had been that way for a while. And while there were sellers in their port-side shops, everyone seemed guarded, choosing to stand behind the stalls and in the doorways rather than out on the streets, yelling and hollering about their amazing products.

Her mother Scarlett must of noticed this change in atmosphere as well, maybe even more than she herself did, based on the visible clench of her jaw.

"Have you ever seen it like this before?" Naomi asked her.

"Once." Scarlett said flatly. "And even then, it wasn't this bad."

"Captain Turner. Miss Turner." Esteban came up the stairs to join them, taking his place right in the exact spot he had been in last night next to Naomi. "I would wish you a good morning, but I see that it would be wasted."

"How does this change our plans?" Naomi asked, her mind already beginning to spin with the possibilities.

"It doesn't. We have a formal request from Queen Abigail. We just need to play it safe." Esteban stated coolly. "However, just to make sure we all leave here with our heads, let me do most of the talking, and will get out perfectly unscathed."

Naomi and her mother shared an unconvincing look, but decided that now was not the time to bruise his ego.

Surprisingly, docking had been easy enough, no troubles finding a spot or dropping anchor.

It wasn't until the gangplank was down and Naomi, Esteban, her mother, and two of Avalor Guards were heading down that they were greeted by some Norberg Royal Guards on the dock.

"State your business." One of the them said gruffly. No traditional Norbergian politeness was going to be found here today.

"I am Chancellor Esteban Flores of Avalor, along with my compatriots, Captain Scarlett Turner and Naomi Turner." Esteban reached into his pocket to produce the distress letter. It was rolled up to not reveal the contents, but still was able to present the Royal Wax seal. "We received a letter from their Royal Majesty to come at their behest."

The guard leaned forward to examine the mark, his eyes betrayed him as they widened slightly. However, they snapped back to attention and began to now examine the group with intense scrutiny. His eyes then were drawn up to the top mast of **The Wayfarer,** where the Avaloran flag flapped slightly in the breeze.

Seemingly satisfied with his assessment, the guard then said, "Follow me, we have a carriage that can take you to the Royal Palace."

One uncomfortable carriage ride later, and the small party arrived at the Front Doors of the Palace. Their Guard "escorts" ushered them inside at a fast pace. But Naomi was at least able to note that while the brick wall that surrounded the castle was high, it was at least all ground level with the rest of the Kingdom unlike Avalor. Count that as a plus.

Everybody remained in a tense silence though as they were led down the extravagant hallways. Naomi tried to keep her focus ahead, but couldn't help but cast an awed glance to the glimmering chandeliers and exclusively crafted paintings of the lush Norberg woods, the same woods and trees that built every building in the Kingdom, including the Palace. Naomi had only ever been in two palaces before, Avalor and the summer Palace of Nueva Vista, that it baffled her how different of a feel this one from either of those two. It was more woodsy and wild.

Naomi was so entranced that she almost ran into Esteban as they stopped right in front of the throne room doors. Their escorts opened the doors, and moved out of the way to allow the group to pass first.  
With one collective breath, Naomi, Esteban, and Scarlett entered as one with the Avalor Guards flanking their back. After a week of traveling and fretting, they would finally get to talk to Queen Abigail and get to the bottom of this potential threat.

As they approached though, there was a woman in servants clothes standing in front of the throne, her back was turned to them and she was blocking whoever she was talking to on the throne.

"Chancellor Esteban Flores of Avalor, Captain Scarlett Turner, and Miss Naomi Turner," The Norberg guard announced in a booming tone.

The woman straightened up and moved out of the way, revealing not Queen Abigail or even Princess Chloe, but instead, a young man around Naomi’s age, maybe even younger, sitting on the throne. He had long, loose ash blonde hair and dark eyes that took their time looking at each one of the group. He was also in fine clothing, but something only as fine as Naomi had seen on visiting monarchs.

The trio looked to one another in confusion.

“Where is her Royal Majesty, Queen Abigail?” Esteban asked.

The servant suddenly looked visibly distressed at that question, looking like she wanted to say something, but no words came out.

"You are dismissed Gilda," The young man said with a wave of his hand.

Gilda looked positively grateful at this as she bobbed a small curtsey and quickly disappeared out of the throne room.

The young man shifted in the throne, throwing his long hair back similar to a horse throwing his mane, and showing that he had a long sword attached at his side.

"So, I'm going to assume you all haven't heard?"

Their hesitance answered his question quickly.

"I'm afraid to inform you all that Queen Abigail passed away a month ago."

All the air felt like it was immediately sucked out of the room, rendering them all as speechless as Gilda had been.

That was impossible. They had just gotten the letter. They had just traveled all this way.

“Abby has passed and no one has thought to send word!?” Her mother shouted.

“That’s a pretty informal way to speak to a Royal, even as decorative of a sailor as you are Captain Turner," The man rested his hand on his chin. “Especially for someone who infamously threw away a perfectly good noble title and married a fish monger.”

Now it was Naomi's turn to yell. "Hey! You can’t speak to my mom that way!”

"And you should not shout at a Royal."

The three of them turned to this new voice entering the fray. A much older man came forth from a far corner of the room that was nothing but wall, implying that he had been there the whole time, even though Naomi could've sworn she hadn't noticed him. His posh clothes and powdered wig made him resemble any other noble Norbergian, though there was almost some kind of very light greenish tint that gave away that he was not from Norberg himself. It was the monocle over his right eye and the way he stuck his chin up to show his prominent jawline that gave him an extra air of pretentiousness.

“Isn’t that right, _Esteban_?” He said, mimicking an Avaloran accent perfectly.

Naomi turned up and was taken aback to see Esteban in a way she had never seen him before. Completely petrified.

There was no doubt then that this was in fact the Northern Isles Royal that Queen Abigail had written about. And based on Esteban's reaction, he had to be no good.

Regardless though, this man was waiting for an answer as his pale blue eyes bore into Esteban. Naomi gently nudged Esteban with her elbow.

“I agree,” He said in a strangled tone before composing himself. “I agree. But it was still very rude to not inform the other allied Kingdoms as soon as possible of this unfortunate predicament.”

“You say that, Chancellor, and yet, Queen Elena did not write to inform us that she would be sending a Avaloran envoy to Norberg." The older man gave them a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Or better yet, if it was of some grave importance, why she didn't come herself."

“My cousin, Queen Elena is in a...delicate situation.”

“Well, from what I have heard, the Queen is anything but delicate.”

“Ah yes," The younger man cut in. "The young, fiery-tempered Queen with a magic scepter and some unruly emotion magic last I heard.”

Esteban's eyes narrowed. "Not as unruly as you would think."

“Who even are you?” Naomi then asked, cutting off the nonsensical back and forth.

“My apologies," The pompous man gestured a hand to the young man, who instantly sat tall and firm in the throne. "May I present Edward of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt. And the rightful Ruler of Norberg.” The man than bowed grandly. "And I am his faithful advisor and servant, Oswall Thornbuckle."

“Rightful ruler?” Scarlett asked.

Edward jumped up from the throne and headed over to another set of doors. The two butlers standing there quickly opened the door for him.

"Follow me, and I will enlighten you all of what has been going on in our glorious Kingdom these past few weeks. It's quite the tale."

The trio shared another look, deliberating what to do.

"Don't worry, I know this castle like the back of my hand," Scarlett reassured them. She turned to the two guards behind them and gave strict orders to, "Just stay close to us."

With no other choice, the group moved to once again be at the mercy of following, this time led by the mysterious Edward and creepy Oswall down another long and impressive hallway. They must have been on the southside of the palace, as the rows of large windows showed the back of the estate of open fields and those glorious mountains. Naomi noted though, that the flag poles that lined the hallway didn't have the usual eight-pointed star against a burgundy backdrop in the corner, with blue and white stripes, one stripe for each of the brave Norbergian families that had first settled here. Now, while there was still the stripes, the corner was decorated with a black raven in flight against a blood red background.

Had those flags been down at the docks too? Naomi wished she could remember. But her pondering was cut off as Edward began talking.

"I was just a simple noble, growing up in our great house up around the mountains where we were in charge of mining and producing coal for the Kingdom." Edward pointed out the windows. "And while most children grew up rolling in the grass and climbing trees, I played ball a top hard jagged stones and could count the days when it was not gray and cloudy on one hand. Not the most ideal place for a happy childhood, but I'm not one to complain," Edward said with a chuckle, but no one returned the laugh except for Oswall.

"One day though, about three months ago, while I was high up in the mountains, taking a trail I had taken a million times before, I was suddenly blessed with this!" 

Edward spun around to them and unsheathed his sword. 

Everyone flinched back and their hands flew to their weapon hilts. But this peacock didn't do anything but hold it high in the air, giving everyone a full view.

It looked like an ordinary sword, except for the blade, which was the color of pure white snow. And then Naomi could hear it. Feel it. Even though she had only experienced it once before, at the Crystal Well of Takaina. The presence of overwhelming, concentrated magic.

Esteban must have felt it too, as he broke composure to pinch the bridge of his nose with his eyes shut tight like he was in pain.

"This is the Ancient sword of Fragarach.”

"That can't be possible," Her mother interjected, though her eyes didn't leave the weapon. "That sword has been long gone for thousands of years, everyone knows that. Whether you heard it from a nursery rhyme or a tavern drinking song."

"Very good, Captain Turner," Edward said, giving them a brilliant smile, his straight white teeth matching the color of the blade. He then placed a hand to his breast and began to recite, with the sword still held high:

_Good King Cole had a mighty sword  
_

_When slashed threw the wind sang a mighty good cord  
_

_And the rocks on the ground couldn't help but dance around  
_

_Good King Cole than laid down to rise no more  
_

_But the sword flew away, so high it soared  
_

_Claiming it would only come down when came it was afford_

"So don't you see! It wasn't just a story, it was a prophecy!" Edward claimed in a excited tone, putting away the sword, his stormy blue grey sparkling. "I was given this sword for a reason! And I was so overwhelmed and ecstatic that I didn't know what to do." He gestured to his advisor. "Luckily, Oswall here happened to be passing through our home the same day and was able to guide me. Told me that I should bring it and present it to Queen Abigail and cousin Chloe as soon as possible."

"How fortunate," Esteban said sarcastically, before Naomi had a chance to say the same thing.

Naomi suddenly halted slightly in her steps. "Wait. Wait a second. You're Chloe's cousin?"

"On her father's side." Edward cast his eyes downward. "We've unfortunately never been close because of complicated family matters. And I only got to know her for a short amount of time before she disappeared."

"Chloe's gone too!?" Scarlett exclaimed.

Naomi pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling like a headache would be coming on from how many loops this was all throwing them through, she couldn't keep up.

Oswall took over this part of the story. "I'm not sure if you were unaware, but Norberg was afflicted with what were the beginnings of a Plague that started showing up not too long after we arrived. Taking a few several people in it's wake. Queen Abigail, being one of those unfortunate."

"And when my beloved aunt Queen Abigail suddenly passed, bless her soul, where was my dear cousin, the heir?" Edward asked. "No where to be found. She simply vanished into thin air. This situation was apparently too much for her delicate sensibilities to handle."

"So, in a time of crisis, his majesty was simply following the lead of Avalor," Oswall turned to them, an unnerving gleam in his pale blue eyes. "We were truly inspired by Queen Elena's perseverance to march in and take the throne from an unfit ruler."

Oswall then swung out his arms out wide. "So, his majesty went to the people, revealed the sword to all, stabbed it into ground, and demanded that this plague take no more of these great people. And then, after only one night, the plague was expelled from this land. And so, chosen by fate and the people, his grace was proclaimed King Edward that very day."

Naomi felt nausea roll through her stomach like waves during a typhoon. This Phony King and his slimy henchman, had weaved such a lengthy, and what they had thought was an inspiring and clever, and not to mention very, very rehearsed, story. But, Naomi knew the truth from Queen Abigail's letter, so this fabrication was easily unraveling right in front of her eyes.

"Plus, it's not like my cousin was anything great." Edward fiddled with a golden medal that was pinned to his jacket. "Not athletic enough to be a warrior, not a master of any of the finer more feminine arts, couldn't even be a ship without being sick. And she was always a bit...socially inept."

Anger sparked within Naomi. She had just about enough of their prattling.

"Since when is being awkward a sufficient reason for treason!?" Naomi burst out, bringing everyone's attention immediately to her. "Honestly, this whole thing just sounds a little too suspicious to me."

"Miss Turner," Esteban hissed through gritted teeth. "Stop talking."

Naomi refused to listen to him. She may not have many attachments to Norberg, but she despised liars and snobs.

"You may have dragged these innocent people here into your little con, but it will never last, not if I have anything to say about it!" Naomi raised her chin up. "And if you need to, go ahead an underestimate the 'fish monger's' daughter. That'll be fun."

Scarlett then grabbed a hold of her arm. "Naomi." She said in a very low and reprimanding tone. Naomi instantly felt like a child at the sound of that voice.

“Is that so?” Oswall asked, tilting his head slightly. "Miss Naomi Turner was it?"

The man took a step towards them.

"The same Naomi Turner that had been serving on Queen Elena's Grand Council for three years? Who convinced Captain Turner to turn down a Admiral position in the Norberg Coast Guard? And the same one who spent the last three years roaming the 17 Seas and reporting it all back to Avalor? The Queen's favorite? That Naomi Turner?"

Naomi felt her blood run cold. How did he know so much about her? Did Queen Abigail or Chloe tell them about her? If so, what else did he know about her?

“If anyone sounds suspicious here, it's most certainly you my dear." A grin stretched across Oswall's face, revealing several hidden wrinkles that aged him considerably. "You know what I think, your grace? I think we may be in the midst of an Avaloran Spy."

"What!?" Naomi practically shrieked.

Edward gasped. "National Betrayal!"

“We are loyal to both. We've always had Norberg's best interests at heart as much as Avalor's,” Her mother said defensively.

“Forgive me if I have a hard time believing your words, Captain Turner,” Oswall said as he took off his monocle. He took out a lace handkerchief with a flourish and began to wipe the glass, even though there wasn't even a speck of dirt on it. “After all, don’t think we didn’t find out about you and your husband's Royal Pardon given by the late Queen Abigail. I highly doubt a truly trustworthy person would've ever required such a thing.”

A Royal Pardon? Naomi had never heard anything about them receiving a Royal Pardon. Surely this must have been another trick.

But it was no trick. It couldn't have been from the absolute terror that was now shining in her mother's dark green eyes with her already pale skin now so white, she could have been translucent.

Seeing her mother in such an unbelievable state caused all the courage and strength to be sapped out of Naomi.

"Oh, I'm not sure how this Kingdom has survived all these years of corruption, dishonesty, and cowardice!" Edward exclaimed dramatically. "We will surely need to fix all this if we ever want to enter a new Golden Age."

"I'm so happy you see this as well, your grace," Oswall cooed, putting his monocle back on, the gold glinting in the light. "Which is why I think it would be best to bring Miss Turner in for questioning."

That seemed to snap Scarlett back. "No! You cannot take my daughter!"

“This girl is a citizen of Norberg by your blood, is she not? She therefore falls under his grace's jurisdiction to do as he sees fit.”

Esteban put an arm out in front of Naomi. "Miss Turner is here under Diplomatic immunity from Avalor, you cannot take her so forcefully, despite what your grace thinks!"

Oswall raised one black brow. "Diplomatically? You're all claiming to be here diplomatically?"

"Yes," Esteban said firmly, straightening his back to size up against the Advisor.

Owsall then leaned in close, his face only inches away from Naomi. Close enough that she smelt the overpowering scent of mint on his breath. And...possibly something that smelled metallic?

"And, pray tell, for what reason?"

Naomi felt her heart thump wildly in her chest. Her hand slowly sliding down to grab around the hilt of her dagger at her waist, silently daring someone to step forward, and try and grab her.

Naomi felt the bones in her hand as she tightened her grip and began to unsheathe her dagger ever so slightly. But she was stopped from unsheathing it anymore as she felt Esteban's hand press strongly on top of hers. She refused to release her hold though.

Esteban then said with absolute seriousness, "Prunes."

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to him in immense bewilderment.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Avalor's trade agreement with Norberg for Prunes expired about a year ago and we've unfortunately haven't had the time to formally revise that agreement."

Naomi had no idea how he knew something so significantly small. But he was right, trade agreements offered a form of protection around a traveler. So she would play along with him.

"He is correct," Naomi said, finding her shred of nerve to keep her voice steady. "We've had a recent influx in our Black pepper plants and would love to have the opportunity to trade our spice for...prunes."

"They cannot be serious Oswall," Edward said with bored disdain. Apparently he was all out of charm for them.

The Advisor though hadn't lost his composure or that gleam in his eye. He began rubbing his chin in frightening interest, as if he were playing a game of chess.

Finally, he shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose the Chancellor is right, if what he says is true."

Naomi let a small sigh of relief escape through her nose. But, it was short lived.

"However, we will be going to our Captain of the guards in order to draw up an official warrant in order to legally obtain Miss Turner for further questioning." Oswall inclined his head back. "If that is what you wish for, your grace."

"Yes, yes, of course, whatever you say," Edward said with alarming ease.

Oswall turned his gaze to Esteban. It was his move.

Esteban simply nodded. "Very well."

"Then we will see you tomorrow when you deliver Miss Turner and this inspiring trade agreement, Chancellor."

The advisor's head swiveled sharply back to Naomi.

"And if Miss Turner is anything like her parents, she's got a strong enough constitution to stomach quite a lot." Oswall gave her one more leering smile and looked at her so intently that Naomi could see her terrified reflection in his obscene monocle. "And I **_so_ **look forward to getting to know her better."


	5. A Proposal is Made

"They can't just do this! They can't just kidnap me!" Naomi seethed. The first words she had spoken since the group had promptly left the Palace.

In fact, none of them had spoken a word the whole carriage ride back to the Port.

Shortly after Oswall's obvious threat, a staff member had come in to inform "King'' Edward that the horses were ready for the afternoon hunt. That seemed to perk up Edward's sour mood so quickly, that he left the group without another word.

Oswall was all too happy though to wish them a pleasant day, confidently exposing his back to them as he followed after the Phony King, almost daring them to plunge something into him. Naomi would have been more than happy to oblige, if her fingers hadn't felt so stiff and clumsy.

As soon as **The Wayfarer** had come into view, they had all left the carriage and their Norberg escorts before they had even come to a complete stop. On board, the crew eagerly waited for an update from their Captain.

Before they could, Esteban said to Naomi and Scarlet, "Come with me." 

And with no other options, the two Turner women followed, leaving the crew in the dark for now. Of course, if Guards were as big of gossips as Sailors, they would be updated soon enough.

They were led into Esteban's Quarters. They actually used to be Naomi's Quarters on the few occasions her and her father had traveled with her mother, mostly to move to the next kingdom.

It seemed that nothing had changed in here, from the bunk beds, to the glass windows that faced towards the sea, and even to Naomi's carved initials on a floorboard after she had smuggled her first small dagger. However, there was now the addition of a huge library that seemed to have sprung up out of thin air. Open books and papers were strewn around the tiny desk that was provided in that cabin. Even more were stacked in some of the trunks that Esteban had brought with him.

Naomi hadn't bothered to do any further investigation at that moment though, for as soon as the door clicked shut behind them, her fury had come out in full force.

"Why are we even listening to them!?" Naomi continued, unable to stop herself as she began pacing around the room. "We know they must have killed Queen Abigail and Chloe fled for her life."

"Because like it or not, we have no way of proving that they killed Queen Abigail," Esteban said, crossing his arms. "And we don't know for sure that Chloe fled herself. She could have just as easily been kidnapped by them."

"But, we have her letter!" Naomi said, pointing to his pocket where Esteban had stashed it.

"Which all it says now is that Queen Abigail was distrusting of the generous and divinely sent Edward," Esteban said, taking out the scroll and waving it in front of her face. "It'll just be used as slander against the Queen rather than Edward himself. And that's just if we don't give it to the wrong person who throws it into the fire and gets rid of it entirely."

"They would do that?"

"It's what I would do," Esteban said as he angrily threw the scroll onto a nearby table, no longer caring if it sustained any damage. "Oswall's already twisted the story once before. I have no doubt that he could do the same to you as well, Queen's favorite or not, if you come for him again."

"Then I'll just sit here and let them try and come for me!" Naomi exclaimed as she unsheathed her dagger without hesitation, and feeling a source of confidence at knowing she had that ability back. And next time, she wouldn't hesitate. "I've fought plenty of villains before, ones 10 times more powerful than them, they can try and kill me."

"There are fates worse than death," Esteban said with so much certainty, that a heaviness immediately settled in Naomi's stomach.

She caught her angry reflection in her dagger's shiny blade, and felt shame wash over her. It was exactly this rashness that had gotten her here, and it undoubtedly wasn't going to help her get out of it. Naomi closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath before she sheathed her weapon.

"So we can't fight them, so what if we just leave? What if we just ran?" Naomi asked, thinking about her map and drawn out routes that she had safely stored in the Captain's Quarters. All the crew was already aboard with them. They could immediately weigh anchor and be out of here with enough distance between them and any Coast Guard ships they may send after them.

"Then you would put Elena in the position to be accused of harboring fugitives and she could be ordered to either give you and your whole family up or possibly go to war."

"Then, we don't have to stay in Avalor." Naomi quickly corrected herself, " **_I_ **don't have to stay in Avalor. I can just jump on my ship and sail as far and as fast as I can away from Avalor."

It was Scarlett's turn to object. "And spend your days being hunted!?"

"If that's what it takes!" Naomi said boldly and stood her ground, just like her parents had raised her to do.

Her mother didn't look happy at this response though, as her mouth set into a firm line. “She could still seek sanctuary.” Scarlett pointed out, and Naomi felt a spark of anger at the fact that her own mom just blatantly ignored and talked past her.

“Then what will happen to you and dad?” Naomi asked, taking a step to the side to make sure she was in her mother's direct line of sight.

“Ah, don’t worry about us, Noams," Her mother said with a clearly forced on smile. "Your father and I have our own battles to fight, and we won’t force you to be in the middle of them.”

“Don't worry about you!? You’re my parents!”

Naomi turned back towards Esteban. “Do you think that they will ever be safe if I leave? Truly?”

“Perhaps if they were to seek Sanctuary in a Sacred Building, and you could even join them, than legally Oswall couldn’t--”

“That’s not what I asked," Naomi said firmly as she walked over and stood right under him.

Esteban looked deeply at her. His mouth was slightly open, but no words came out. Finally, he shut his mouth and shook his head. “No.”

That one word seemed to bring down the entire mood of the room, crushing their hope in a slow and painful way.

"It doesn't matter where you go Naomi," Esteban said flatly. "Whether you hid in Satu, or Vallestrella or even on a deserted island in the middle of the Chaos Sea. The wrath of Oswall and Edward, and thereby Norberg, will be placed upon Avalor and your family that is left behind." Esteban abruptly turned away, hiding his face away from them. "It's just the way it is."

In that moment, Naomi fully felt the weight of her actions settle upon her. They began to push down on her shoulders and chest so much, that she felt forced to take a seat on the bed.

She hadn't meant for this to happen. Naomi had met, and joked, and even made snide comments at Monarchs before, and none of them had acted in the way that most common people feared: with outrage or backhanded slaps or, most severely, beheadings.

Naomi just couldn't sit there and listen to such blatant mockery of Abigail and Chloe, two people who had done nothing wrong. Foolishly, Naomi had expected to be able to leave that room untouched after her comment. Or better yet, that Edward would pull out that sword and come at them. Then, they could defeat them and those two could be arrested for their crimes, just like that, just like she and the rest of her friends had been able to do a hundred times over. Everything wrapped up so perfectly.

An idea then donned on Naomi.

"And there's no hope that we can get the other nobles here to side with us, to unseat these two from power?"

"Even if the more heroic tactic did work, without Chloe, we could just be providing an opportunity for another noble family to take the throne." Esteban looked to Scarlett. "Edward said that you gave up a noble title, would your family be of any use to us?"

"No," She said instantly. "Last time I talked to my family, they were ready to seek power wherever they could. And I've been out of that world too long to know who to trust anymore. Not that I trusted anyone to really begin with."

Naomi placed a hand on her mother's forearm in comfort. She didn't know much about her matrilineal side of the family. Only that they had been snobbish, controlling, and old fashioned. And that was more than enough for the Young Captain to know that she was better off without them. Still, it would have been nice if they could at least be useful in this moment.

With desperation beginning to truly set in, Naomi went over to the nearest stack of books and picked up the top one and read the cover: 'Norberg's reign during Ivan the Agreeable.'

So that's what Esteban had been doing on the journey here, and how he probably knew about that obscure trade agreement. If he knew something as insignificant as prunes, then he had to know how to get her out of this.

"There has to be something else you've learned from these books," Naomi said, gesturing to all the stacks.

Esteban pressed a finger to his temple and closed his eyes. “As far as I can tell, the only way you could get around this without putting anyone in overt or immediate danger is if you weren’t a citizen of Norberg anymore.”

Of course! It was the most obvious solution. She had even stated on the docks of Avalor a few years ago, right before she and her family were about to come live in Norberg for her mother's Admiral position, that her home was there, and her heart hadn't changed since that fateful day.

Her brows then drew together. “Wait, how am I already not an Avaloran citizen?”

“The request for the change of Citizenship can only be given out as an official decree by the Ruler of the Kingdom,” Esteban explained. “And Elena hasn’t officially made you one since you were under the guardianship of your parents, and then obtained your majority while you were still traveling.”

“Then we just have to get an official decree from Elena." Naomi motioned to the stack of blank parchments that were on the desk. “We need to write her a letter.”

“It would never get there in time,” Scarlett said in a hopeless tone. “Even the Jaquins tired coming here to Norberg, so there's no way a raven could get there any faster.”

Naomi felt the sudden sting of tears come to her eyes. But she immediately squeezed her eyelids shut in an attempt to banish them away.

“Is there any other way to make me an Avaloran citizen?” Naomi asked, although, she felt like she was running out of questions.

Esteban sighed and tucked one finger into the collar of his yellow cravat and tugged at it, as if he was trying to loosen it. “The only other way is through Marriage. If you marry a citizen of Avalor then you can instantly obtain citizenship through your partner."

"You sound so certain."

Esteban turned his face away from her again. "During the beginning of Shuriki's reign, when it became very clear that Elena nor the other Royals were returning, and Alacazar was nowhere to be found, many fled rather than live under her dictatorship. Some decided to marry citizens of neighboring Kingdoms in order to get rid of their Avaloran identity."

Naomi felt her stomach twist. "That's horrible."

"Well, after Shuriki demanded the mass burning of everything that resembled the 'old' Avalor, most didn't have much more to lose," He said with a simple shrug. "The good news is that divorce is legal in Avalor, so it can be undone, but requires a minimum of one year of marriage.”

“Would my family be protected too?” Naomi asked. She wasn’t seriously considering this. Well, maybe she was, at least a little. She needed to know all the options and avenues that could be taken.

“Not necessarily, that usually depends on the spouse,” Esteban said leaning against the wall. “The higher authority the Spouse’s family has, the more unspoken power they tend to have.”

"So you mean an Avaloran noble?"

"Precisely."

"Why do nobles and Royals think they're so important again?" Naomi said with a roll of her eyes.

"It's also an Avaloran Royal who's trying to help you out right now," Esteban retorted back.

Naomi groaned a little. Well, even if she had half considered grabbing one of the nearest crew men and putting a ring on their finger, she doubted they could help her stand against those two Royal nutcases.

Scarlett then let out a loud sigh. “I...I don’t really like it. But, if there's no other way and Naomi is okay with it, then I will give my blessing.”

Naomi looked to Esteban, but he only seemed to share her confusion.

“What are you talking about mom?”

“Marriage, that’s what you were proposing, right Chancellor?" Scarlett motioned to Naomi. "To marry Naomi in order for her to gain protection. For surely the Queen's cousin gains quite a lot of this 'unspoken power' you were talking about.”

Esteban looked absolutely dumbfounded and sputtered slightly, “I hadn’t been offering--It's positively crazy--well Miss Turner would surely have some objection to this proposal too!?”

Of course she had an objection to this! Marriage!? To Esteban!? How could her mother even suggest that!?

Her parents had never pressured her with the idea that she would have to get married someday. Not like Mateo’s mother, who practically used Mateo’s 18th birthday party to double as a speed dating session before Rafa realized that his heart belonged to Elena and hers to him, even if they hadn’t said anything yet.

While Naomi had been entertaining the idea of a companion to travel with her since she had returned. But that was it. A companion.

Before she could voice these thoughts though, the City Center bell rang out. Indicating another hour had passed. That more time was lost. Another hour closer before she would be forcibly handed over and her fate left uncertain.

Naomi ran a hand through her hair and she began pacing again as her agitation had riled her up too much to sit still. But she tried to put this all in perspective.

They had already thoroughly exhausted all their other options. There was always the hope that there was still some small law or loophole stuck in the pages of these books. Even then, it was as Esteban had said, Edward and Oswall had already twisted the truth, they could easily do the same to anything the group presented. Those two held all the power.

It truly sickened Naomi, and she wanted to bring them to justice, but honestly, she also wanted to make them pay for abusing their power and thinking they could control her.

But she couldn't do that from a dank and dark torture chamber. Or if she was missing her head.

Naomi turned her eyes to the sea, something that always brought her comfort, as she folded her arms over her chest tightly.

“If I marry you Esteban, then will my parents and I be protected by the Royal family? I will be able to get on this ship tomorrow and leave? Correct?”

He was silent for a good long moment before he answered, almost solemnly, “Yes.”

Naomi took one hard swallow in an attempt to parch her dry throat. She then squared back her shoulders and turned to look at the waiting faces of her mother...and her fiancé.

"Okay. Let's do this."

***********

Planning a secret wedding, or elopement, or whatever this was, took a lot longer than Naomi had anticipated.

They first needed to find a Sacred Building, a place that had been blessed by magic in some way. Then someone to perform the ceremony. And, most importantly, they needed to get a Certificate of Marriage that they would need to sign and have this all be legal and binding.

Naomi had of course offered her services to complete one of these tasks, since time was of the essence. This was shot down by Esteban though, who warned them that Oswall and Edward might have a spy or even spies, keeping an eye on them.

Her mother agreed, and offered instead, that it would be best if Naomi and Esteban drew the attention onto themselves and away from the rest of the small group of a few Avaloran guards that would go take care of these tasks. This also meant that most of the ship's crew would be left in the dark for a little longer as the guards had actually been quiet about the situation as they had been ordered to do. Gabe had said he would send his best men, and Naomi felt regret for thinking otherwise.

So, after a few mindless walks around the open streets, Esteban and her were now in the shadows of an alleyway between a bakery and a flower shop.

Naomi sat atop a barrel of molasses and was picking at some kind of sweet flaky pastry her mother had suggested she should go get, and had even given her the money to purchase it. It was a nice gesture from her mother. She was trying her best to make Naomi feel better, and even her father probably wouldn't know how to comfort her in a situation like this.

Esteban was leaning against the wall across from her. He had a piece of parchment and pen in his hand and had been furiously scratching at it the entire time they had been here.

"What are you doing?" Naomi asked, with nothing else to distract her.

"Writing up the trade agreement."

"For the prunes? I thought that was just a lie?"

"It was a lie," Esteban stated, his eyes never leaving the paper. "But you usually have to make something believable about the lie or it will come back to bite you."

He said this all with the ease as he had said earlier about burning incriminating letters, and divorce, and completely abandoning your identity. How could someone be so pessimistic?

Naomi could understand that serving under Shuriki must've not been smooth sailing. That woman had had the blackest heart Naomi had ever seen. But Elena had also been the one trapped in an amulet for 41 years, and conscious the entire time after watching her parents get murdered, and still she knew how to have a never ending sense of hope and optimism that even annoyed Naomi at times.

Were those two really cousins?

The scratching pen noises abruptly came to a halt.

Esteban loudly cleared his throat that caused Naomi to look at him. “I’m going to be forward with you Miss Tur--Naomi. Have you been kissed at all? Have you been intimate with anyone?”

That was not a question she had expected him to ask. And it made her blush all the way to the roots of her hair.

“W--why are you asking me that?”

“We can officially and smoothly annul the marriage in a year on the grounds of it being unconsummated, to skip over the messy divorce business. But, we will have to publicly seal the union with a kiss.” Esteban waved his hand around lightly, as if he was searching for the right words. "And it would make me...it would ease me knowing that I wouldn't be...taking away anything from you."

“Oh...right,” Naomi said as she reached up to begin fiddling with her choker's gems.

She was open about talking about sexuality and relationships, she had nothing to be ashamed of. Well, almost nothing. But it was the fact that it was Esteban, the most straight-laced man she had ever met, was the one asking her this, that she was completely thrown off balance.

“I mean, uhhh, yes, I’ve had a few...intimate relations with people I’ve met on my travels. Nothing too serious has ever come around though.”

Esteban didn't look at her shocked or disapprovingly. In fact, he seemed to sigh a little in relief before turning his attention back to the treaty. Naomi was grateful, she would hate to have to start yelling at him right before they were supposed to get married.

"I'm assuming that there's no need to ask if I would be taking anything away from you?" Naomi asked as brazen as she could. It was only fair that he was also forced to say it out loud too.

Esteban only looked at her though with a not very amused expression.

"I mean, you are you."

"I'm a gentleman, not a monk," Esteban said, his irritation front and center.

Naomi felt her own irritation rise. "Doña Paloma doesn't count."

"And I told you I never had anything like that with that dragon woman!" Esteban loudly exclaimed, his cheeks actually turning red. "I've had way too many experiences with people of higher caliber to ever do something so depraved!"

 _Way too many_ , huh?

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Naomi asked in a snippy tone.

Esteban just huffed at her, annoyed that he had fallen for her trap, before flapping the treaty dramatically in front of his face.

Naomi decided now that she was thoroughly vexed that now was as good of time as any to try and take a small bite of the pastry. But she couldn't even taste any of it, her body was still in too much shock.

Really, she could go for a whiskey right about now. All she would need is one drink, just something to take off the edge before she was forced to stand before a witness and claim union to a man that she was planning on leaving as soon as possible, and to seal that union with a kiss.

A kiss. They could barely talk to each other right now, and they were expected to kiss. It would probably end horribly. And this was going to be in front of her mother and a bunch of strangers that worked at the Cathedral.

Naomi couldn't let that happen. For pride's sake if nothing else.

“I don't know about you, but I don’t like walking into something that I know I could prepare for.” Naomi finished swallowing down the last few crumbs of the pastry that had been stuck in her throat. “So, since you're right about the fact that we are going to have to kiss, then we might as well do it now and get the initial shock so we don’t make ourselves look like fools up there.”

Naomi heard Esteban's pen scratch so loudly, that she actually thought he put a hole through the paper.

He looked like he was about to ask if she was joking until their eyes met, and he saw that she was dead serious. His eyes then broke from hers and shifted around for several seconds.

"I suppose you're right," Esteban agreed most reluctantly. He placed the paper and pen on another nearby crate and moved to overtly straighten out his jacket.

“Okay,” Naomi said as confidently as she could. She jumped off the barrel and wiped the crumbs off her breeches. She lifted her chin up in a dignified manner.

When she looked up into his eyes this time though, she felt herself freeze.

It wasn't that she thought him unattractive or even his age that bothered her. She had been around only adults for most of her life that age seemed like nothing but a number, and didn't deter from who she became friends and even lovers with.

But this was...Esteban.

The last time they had truly touched was a rather aggressive and tight celebratory hug when they had almost fallen off a cliff in a runaway carriage. Which they then promptly let go of each other and agreed to never speak of it again, blaming the adrenaline from facing a life or death situation.

Just the thought that it was him alone, made her wonder how did she kiss people up until this moment.

She tried to reach into her memories to remember. All she could remember, however, was the overwhelming warm desire and lightheartedness. And most importantly, it feeling natural.

But, here, in a dark alleyway where the shadows that surrounded them seemed to be getting colder, as they now stood toe to toe, and their bodies tense, it felt anything but natural.

Digging deeper into the memories and breaking it down on a step by step level, Naomi decided to raise herself up on her toes to at least get closer to him. Mercifully, he took her cue and bent down towards her.

Had he always been this tall?

They tilted their heads a little, but then both simultaneously halted. Neither of them moved and just continued to stare at one another, daring the other to be the one to back out.

Suddenly, Esteban just leaned forward and their pursed lips were pressed hard together. Naomi couldn't help as her body curled and cringed from the uncomfortable feeling of the surprise attack. Her instincts telling her to lean away.

But, before she could force herself to relax, Esteban pulled away.

Naomi reached up and touched her lips, they still felt cold and hard.

That was it? Was that how he thought people kissed? That was nothing!

Naomi narrowed her eyes. Her and her family's safety and security was relying on this crazy plan and that's how he was going to be!?

Her hands flew up and gripped his jacket collar and brought him crashing down into another kiss. She used too much force though and their teeth clacked slightly and their heads knocked against each other.

"Ouch," Esteban mumbled against her lips.

"Sorry," Naomi mumbled right back.

They both pulled back and Naomi released his now crumpled collar, which he promptly went to straightening back out.

This was not working. If they couldn't get a kiss down, who knows what else would go wrong?

Naomi let out a sigh and cupped her forehead, rubbing the sore spot.

She looked out the corner of her eye and saw that Esteban was looking at her.

They each let out a weak laugh, both no doubt feeling ridiculous at how they were acting during this whole situation.

It helped lighten the mood as Naomi breathed out. "Okay."

Naomi turned to fully face him. This time however, she put her hands on his shoulders.

Esteban’s own hands pressed directly on the middle of her rib cage, careful of not being in danger of slipping up or down to an inappropriate place.

They both bent down and again hesitated before contact. Their lips now danced in front of each other and their breath now occupied the same space.

However, as Naomi met his gaze and really looked at those light brown eyes, she was reminded...this was Esteban.

The man who had spent late nights with her on council business, organized the exhibit for her and Professor Mendoza's Maruvian artifact findings with her, and personally invited her family to Navidad at the Palace.

Amongst the snide remarks and disagreements, she trusted him.

Holding onto that fact, Naomi closed her eyes and gently pressed ahead for this third and final kiss, that was by far the most decent one.

Esteban worked with her rather than against her this time. So, Naomi allowed herself to get a little more immersed with the feel of his surprisingly soft lips and the familiar scent of his spicy cologne.

He must have been doing the same as one of his hands came up and cradled the back of her head, his thumb stroking her smooth and fine blonde hair.

There was no underlying fire that erupted in her heart, and his styled mustache annoyingly tickled her face, and his posture still felt a little stiff underneath her hands.

But, it was nice.

They parted and he kept his hands on her until she was firmly back flat on her feet.

They both remained silent, letting the entirety of the moment sink in.

“We can make this work,” Naomi declared, her voice clear and strong because she truly believed it.

"This is true," Esteban said softly. He then reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Naomi’s breath hitched in her throat as he did that, that small gesture feeling more intimate than the kisses they had just shared.

Her hand instinctively reached up and touched the hand that was still close to her face. Both of them became paralyzed.

It was the barest amount of skin to skin contact, and yet it felt so foreign to be touching the other.

True, they had shared casual touches before, and a kiss could just be a kiss. So why did she feel so hyper-aware of him? Was it because she knew him that her body naturally reacted to him?

Gabe and her had had feelings for each other, but she had never been like this. Was it because she never kissed him? Did that really shift a relationship that much?

Naomi now wondered if they were making a huge mistake.

"Chancellor Esteban. Captain Turner."

The pair automatically jumped away from one another, as if they had a reason to be ashamed that they were standing so close to one another. They were about to get married for goodness sake.

An Avaloran guard's face appeared around the corner of the alleyway.

"We have everything in place, so we can safely move you. Luckily, the building's only a few streets over from here."

Naomi nodded her head quickly. "Thank you, lead the way."

The man nodded and disappeared back around the corner.

"Right, shall we get going?" Naomi awkwardly and unnecessarily readjusted her waist cincher, even though it felt like it had gotten tighter.

"Yes, lets," Esteban said hastily as he rolled up the treaty and stuck it into his jacket.

He didn't wait for her as he exited the alley and out into the sun and busy street.

Looked like their brief courtship was officially over.


	6. The Wedding

The St. Paul Cathedral on 5th street was an absolutely breathtaking piece of architecture: from it's high vaulted ceilings to it's carved wood and brightly painted drawings of Norberg's sacred scriptures. It was foretold that a giant man, who swam across the freezing bay waters to bring back the trees from the nearby Gibsbeak Island, built this Cathedral for himself and the first settlers to survive the winter. 

Anyone who visited Norberg should have a chance to explore it.

Naomi wished she herself had an opportunity to fully experience the beauty of it. But, she only had gotten a glance at the interior before she was rushed to one of the few small dressing rooms usually reserved for happy brides and babies preparing for their Name Day ceremony, and had been ordered to 'get ready.'

She still had no idea what exactly she needed to do to 'get ready,' since she had figured they would just be standing in front of the officiate, say a few words, kiss, and sign the certificate. Simple and to the point.

When she took in the small, lightly furnished room, she noticed there was a small dressing table in the back corner. She walked over to it and glanced in the mirror, and upon closer inspection decided that she could take a seat and at least pull out her leather hair tie, and use the complimentary brush that was lying on the table to get the knots out of her blonde hair.

She had just finished completing this task with her hair now smooth and loose around her shoulders, when the door to the room squeaked open. Naomi's hand instantly flew to the handle of her dagger. 

However, she recognized the flash of dark red hair in the mirror's reflection, and quickly released her hold on the weapon. She swiveled around on the chair to gaze upon the comforting presence of her mother.

“Noams,” She said in the same soft and gentle way that she used to when she was calming Naomi down from nightmares about Sirenas dragging her off ships and into the ocean. Before she would wrap Naomi in her strong arms and they would count their matching freckles together until Naomi drifted off into a more peaceful sleep.

The smile that had been growing on Naomi's face from that calming memory fell when she saw that her mother was holding a white dress and white satin slippers. She tried not to grimace as she realized it was a wedding dress. There was no mistaking it.

It was long sleeved with a low square neckline and covered in white floral designed lace with a few large slits towards the bottom of the dress to reveal the more grayish colored underskirt. It was finished off with some small pink ruffles that decorated the neckline and down the large slits.

“You didn’t have to waste your time getting one,” Naomi said as she averted her eyes from the garment and wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s already too dangerous for us to be seen.”

Scarlett draped the dress over the back of a chair. "Nonsense. Even I had one for my wedding," She said nonchalantly and gestured for Naomi to stand.

She followed orders and even managed to work up a small smile, hoping it would alleviate her mother from feeling guilty. Naomi began to remove her belt and dagger, waist cincher, shirt, boots, and breeches with quick ease and handed them to her mother. It was a skill she had to learn since danger could spring at any moment on a ship, and she didn't look very dignified trying to steer a ship or raise a sail in only a chemise and undershorts.

Naomi lifted up her arms as Scarlett pushed the dress over the top of her head and got her arms through the sleeves, similar to when she had helped Naomi get ready for their annual family portrait. Well, they had _tried_ to have an annual family portrait up until Naomi was about 13.

“Mine, of course, needed to be of a little looser style since I was already a couple months pregnant with you," Scarlett continued as she worked on smoothing out the dress and seeing how it laid. "I gave them your size, so it fits pretty good. It might be a little long, but we can hem the bottom. I might not have the steady hand as your father does with a needle and thread, but I know well enough how to tie and pin up the ends of skirts."

"I know," Naomi bluntly said as it was all she could think to say in that moment.

That seemed to put a stop to Scarlett's uncharacteristic rambling as she simply nodded and Naomi felt a deep pang of guilt in her chest. She may have said that a little too harshly. Turns out neither of them were being very good liars right now.

They both fell momentarily silent with the busyness and clatter of the city center filtering in through the large open windows to thankfully drown out their awkwardness. Naomi reached up to fiddle with her choker gems, something she usually didn't do when her mother was physically with her; since the whole reason they had matching chokers was so Naomi could feel close to her when she had missed her dearly and longed for her safe embrace.

"You don't have to do this. We can try and figure something out Noams," Her mother then said as she stepped forward and clasped Naomi's hands. She tried not to flinch from the shock of how cold they felt.

Naomi shook her head insistently and tightened her grip on her mother's rough and worn hands. "Mom, I already said I was doing it and I don't back down. It's what I was always raised to do."

Scarlett let the corner of her mouth quirk up briefly and moved up to rub Naomi's arms before turning her around to start buttoning up the back of the dress.

"Perhaps your father and I should have also raised you to be able to be a little more selfish," Scarlett said abruptly.

Naomi's eyes widened as she looked back to the mirror and saw the reflected solemn expression on her mother's face. She had never seen these bleak sides of her mother before that it all felt so jarring, especially when Naomi recalled the way Scarlett had turned as white as a ghost during that conversation with Oswall.

Naomi bit her lip as she dreaded asking the question that was now on the tip of her tongue. But she needed to know what exactly they were facing and why.

“Mom...what was that creep Oswall talking about when he mentioned a Royal Pardon?” Then in a more hopeful tone she asked, “Was it a lie?”

Her mother remained silent for a few moments as she continued to button up the back of the dress while Naomi's gaze never left the mirror.

“No, it wasn’t a lie.”

Naomi felt her knees buckle slightly.

“What did you need one for?”

Another beat of silence passed before her mother leveled herself up and took a firm stance, similar to a warrior getting ready to head into a battle.

“When I was a young Captain, a few years into my military career, and your father was a young sailor under my command, we had orders to catch a blacklisted criminal, Captain Robert Lye. He had been a Privateer for the Crown, but had switched over to being a Pirate as he turned to attacking our allies and even our own ships, and keeping all the treasure he had acquired for himself. He was becoming so much of a threat that Abby, while she was still new to ruling, put out an order to find him and bring him in, dead or alive."

Naomi was instantly puzzled. This was because of a Pirate? Why hadn't she heard this story before? Her parents had never shied away from telling her stories about being boarded by ruthless criminals or battling horrific sea monsters that had caused other kids to start crying, but only made a little Naomi sit still with intense rapture and excitement.

A growing panic started to settle in as Naomi began to feel that she already knew the reason why they hadn't said anything as she crushed handfuls of the delicate lace fabric tightly in her fists.

"Everyone took up arms, but my crew and I were able to track him off the coast of the town of Winter's Edge thanks to a helpful tipoff," Scarlett said as she intently focused on continuing to button the back, and therefore avoided having to look at Naomi's face. Just how many buttons did this damn dress have?

"It was a bitter cold season that year, but it hadn't stopped the burning fire that had been in my blood when I saw the destruction he had just done to this innocent town. I thought for a second that we had lost him, but then I saw his ship not too far out into sea. And all I really remember after that was the determination to go get the son of a bitch. To increase our knots by any means necessary, even if that meant taking damage to the bow and strain on the main mast."

Her mother suddenly stopped to curse, undo the last couple of buttons, and start over again as she resumed her story. "My crew was good and we caught up to them easily. Then I--I was hasty in my calls, I was so sure...so reckless in getting rid of him and protecting others that I ordered we open fire and sink the ship."

She finished the top tiny button with slightly shaky fingers before bowing her head a little and made her appear as if she were smaller than even Naomi.

"The plan was successful and the ship sank, no survivors." Her mother let out a shaky breath with her head still bowed. "However because I was so hasty in my plans, so adamant to be a hero without doing any kind of negotiations with him, that I didn't know that Lye had taken aboard 10 hostages from the town until we fished Lye's body out of the sea and docked at Winter's Edge."

Naomi must have drawn in a sharp breath, for Scarlett's head snapped back up and their eyes met in the mirror and caught her shocked expression. 

Her mother swallowed hard.

"I was horrified by what I had done that I would have fainted right then and there on the dock if your father hadn't been there to catch me and keep me upright." She rubbed Naomi's arm, but this time, it was in a way as if she was trying to comfort herself rather than Naomi. "I did spend the rest of the night throwing up and disoriented after I forced my crew to tell me the names and lives of those innocent people. Because of that, I also ended up coming down with a fever on our voyage back to the Capital City that kept me confined to my cabin, which didn't exactly help with what I knew everyone was thinking, that I was entirely ruthless and coldhearted."

"But you've saved so many people since then. Surely that counts for something?" Naomi blurted out in desperation, surprised that she could still talk even though the rest of her body felt stiff as a board.

"Aye, I have dedicated my life to making sure I save as many people as I can. To see every person as human, no matter how much a villain they were branded as," Scarlett said, her voice now hollow, as she untied Naomi's choker and carefully placed it on top of the pile of her other belongings. "But what is the true weight and exchange of a human life. Of a soul. I fear I will never be able to repay that debt."

She was right. And that only made the tightness in Naomi's chest clench so hard that she felt asphyxiated by the truth.

Naomi went to go pull at the two long pink ribbons that came down from the bodice's neckline. But they slipped through her fingers as Scarlett picked them up and crossed them over Naomi's chest before tying them in a tight knot behind her neck.

"I had been ready to answer for my crimes, so did most of the crew, including your father, all saying that they held accountability for going along with my orders rather than question them. But, instead, I got a Royal pardon, because, from what I was told, of my already extensive list of military achievements." Scarlett inhaled a harsh snort. "But I also knew it was because I had been a maid-in-waiting to Abby for a good year and she knew me so personally, the only good thing to come out from that pathetic plan from my family to get me married off to some high ranking Duke or Lord."

"So, I decided not to squander the chance I had been given to keep living, but I knew I couldn't go back to the glamorous military life I had envisioned for myself. Not with that big of a red stain on my ledger. So, I left Norberg, your father following me, that foolish and kind man, hoping that if enough time passed and enough deeds were done, that it would be at least forgotten in time by others."

Scarlett gripped Naomi's arm tighter. "And now here I am, a fool for believing that, and having this shameful secret used in such a way that I couldn't protect you, my most precious treasure, when you needed me most. I am so sorry that I failed you there."

Naomi opened up her mouth to try and console her mother as she had done many times in the last couple of hours. But it was useless. Instead, she felt her cheeks run hot and saw that the deep blush not only colored her face, but also ran down her entire neck. A vivid sign of that discomfort she now felt.

How could she be expected to offer any kind of solace at this moment when she wanted some of her own?

Naomi felt like the whole world was slightly tilting on its side. Like her life was beginning to tilt as well. Every decision that had affected her life was now all because her parents had committed a war crime. All that moving around. All that time separated from one another. Everything.

Even as she saw tears rimming not only her mother's green eyes, but her blue ones as well, Naomi wasn't sure she could look at her parents the same way again.

After they each had time to hastily wipe away their tears, hoping the other hadn't noticed, and Naomi had gotten her shoes on, she and her mother came out of the dressing room and into the front entrance hall of the Cathedral. 

Esteban was already there waiting for them in the foyer.

He had changed out of his usual burgundy colored jacket and yellow cravat, but not into his bright yellow colored jacket and white cravat that he always wore to formal functions. Instead, he had on a black jacket with light brown trimming and large bright gold leaf patterns, and a cream colored cravat. She had never seen this one before.

Esteban caught sight of them and drew himself up to a rigid stance, but he didn't put his hands behind his back as usual because he had something bright red cupped in them.

"Captain Turner. Miss Turner."

He then awkwardly presented his cupped hands forward and revealed a little pile of small, fresh, red roses. "It's tradition for Flores brides to wear roses in their hair."

Naomi didn't take the flowers though, because all she could do was stare at them.

Flores brides.

It really hit her in that moment that she was marrying into a Royal family. She knew them on such a personal level, like her mother did - had - with Queen Abigail, that it was easy to forget their Royal status and great legacy. A legacy that had traditions that spanned back hundreds of years to when their Royal house had been born. Or maybe even longer. While the closest Naomi and her family had to "traditions" was eating crab for dinner when they were all reunited together and lighting colored lanterns for Christmas.

"That is very kind of you," Her mother said, mercifully taking the flowers in Naomi's stead and putting them in Naomi's hair in a laurel-like fashion.

Naomi's hand instinctively went to her side to rest on her dagger hilt, and in a temporary panic forgot that she wasn't wearing it, nor her lasso, nor anything else that made her feel protected.

A little girl in a white robe that identified her as a Cathedral Child stepped towards Naomi to present a bouquet of pink roses to her. After wiping her sweaty palms on the skirt of her dress, she smiled at the girl and gratefully took the bouquet, clutching the thornless stems tightly. 

"Okay!" Scarlett declared, putting her hands on her hips and taking a step back to observe them. "I think you're both ready. I'll just go make sure Ruthie is ready as well, and then you two can make your grand entrance together."

"The Chief Engineer?"

Scarlett nodded. "She was in training to be a Sage before she left to join the high seas."

Naomi shook her head in disbelief. Apparently everyone wasn't who they seemed.

Scarlett cracked open the closed door that led into the Chapel enough to slide her body through. The brief sound of commotion and people escaped the crack before immediately being silenced once it closed.

Narrowing her eyes at the door, Naomi asked Esteban, "We're not the only ones here?"

He had the audacity to just shrug his shoulders. "We needed to have witnesses."

" ** _A_ **witness," Naomi said fiercely. She may have not been to many weddings, but she knew that much at least. "Is the whole crew in there?"

"Of course not," Esteban retorted, jutting his chin out. "Only half the crew is here, the other half is back aboard guarding the ship. And the ones here I also gave them quite a few gold coins to pay some locals to also fill in some more seats."

Naomi was completely floored. She knew the kind of people who would and could attend a stranger's Wedding in the middle of the afternoon for one gold coin. Which meant that the other half of their witnesses were Tavern wenches, drunks, and delinquent teens. She could see his intentions had to be sure that if need be, an indisputable amount of people could claim that they had witnessed this wedding. However, Naomi also wondered if any of those locals would actually remember being here after tonight.

Still, Naomi felt valid in the annoyance bubbling deep in her chest as rather than the gradual trickle of the gossip circle that could have happened when only a few crew members knew the situation, was now completely shattered and she could imagine this news spreading from here to Satu by the morning. Something Esteban would have never understood since he barely spent anytime on a ship. Really, anytime outside of the Royal Palace.

Of course her mother would already know all this. So why had she let this happen!?

"I see they were able to find a dress for you as well like I had requested."

Naomi's gaze shot to him. "This unnecessary getup was also all your doing? Why?"

"Because a sham or not, this is still a Royal wedding, and my wedding at that."

She gripped her bouquet even harder, half tempted to throw it right in his self-approving face. Leave it to a man who supposedly had a marble bust of himself in his own bedroom to make a bigger deal of this whole situation.

All these extra preparations had been so needless. Now, this felt like a real wedding. And it was. It was her wedding, as Naomi was reminded again.

Naomi sighed deeply. "You could have at least told me about all of this. We had enough time to talk in that alleyway."

"There was no room for debate about these things and I knew you would probably want to object to them."

"I deserve some respect though! We've known each other long enough that I am more than owed it by you!" She then added spitefully, "And it's what a good spouse is supposed to do."

That statement sucked out all of the bravado that Esteban had had up until that moment. Pulling him out of whatever blasé headspace he had put himself into and bringing him back to the harsh reality of what they were about to do.

There was no more time for arguing however, as the doors to the Chapel began to open. Pushing whatever barbed words they still might have for each other aside, Naomi and Esteban put on a stone façade and joined hands that were raised up high, for all to see.

After a slight stumble in their steps at the first note of the entrance organ music since both of them wanted to lead, they quickly recovered and were able to walk down the aisle in matching, even strides. Another lesson Esteban had ingrained deep into her during her Royal _quinceañera-plus-1_ training.

Naomi began to feel disorientated as her mind tried to look and process all the faces in the pews that were watching them as they passed. She decided to keep her eyes fixed ahead until they were at the pulpit where the tough and tall Ruthie stood with a small book with the Avaloran crest printed on the front of it.

Once the music finished, Naomi heard the shuffle of everyone sitting down and wished she could do the same. She kept herself upright though as her and Esteban released hands, and Ruthie opened up her book and the ceremony began.

"My fellow Avalorans, we are gathered here today..."

It was after a few minutes however that Naomi began to let her mind drift. Hearing the long drawl of the traditional Avaloran prayers of goodness and health once again, reminded her how much of a drag it had been during Elena and Mateo’s wedding.

At that time though, it had also sounded so beautiful and poetic, as she had sat in the front row while her two friends gazed into each other’s eyes, smiling and mouthing a silent conversation to one another despite being in front of hundreds of guests that ranged from nobility to common.

It was hard to believe that what was being performed now was the shortened version of the ceremony as they were forgoing the personal vows and lighting of the union candle for obvious reasons.

As the anxiety started to creep up from the pit of her stomach, Naomi desperately wanted to make a reach for her choker and fiddle with the gems. She refrained herself though remembering that she wasn't wearing it and instead focused on drawing in the heavily perfumed scent of the roses from her bouquet.

That ended up being a bad solution as that scent mixed in with the thick incensed air made her feel a little lightheaded, and she almost missed when Ruthie said it was time to exchange rings.

Another one of the Cathedral Children, this time a little boy, stepped forward and lifted a purple satin pillow up to the couple. In the middle of it sat two identical silver rings. Naomi picked up the bigger one and was shocked by how light it felt. Rolling it between her fingers, it was highly probable that the crew had bought these clearly cheap rings from one of the dozen of less than savory people with big yellow smiles on the street sidewalks that sold all types of counterfeit jewelry off their questionably stained blankets. But, she supposed all that mattered was that it served its purpose right this second.

“Do you, Naomi Grace Turner, take this man, to have and to protect, to be your partner in all things and to be bound by the magic of old Avalor, from this day until the end?”

“I do.” Naomi’s voice came out in a small squeak as she pushed the ring with some effort on to Esteban's finger. She wasn't a particularly religious person, but couldn't help but worry if she would get smited at this very moment for saying such a blatant lie during a sacred ceremony.

A few of the locals misinterpreted her response as her being choked up by a more loving emotion and let out an affectionate ‘awww.’

“And do you, Esteban Francisco Ricardo Flores, take this woman, to have and to protect, to be your partner in all things and to be bound by the magic of old Avalor, from this day until the end?”

“I do.” His response was in a much stronger tone than hers, but was just as deprived of any real feeling as the ring easily slid onto Naomi's finger as it was slightly too big.

“Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you, Husband and Wife." Ruthie motioned to the two of them. “You may kiss the bride.”

The same small girl from earlier came to take Naomi's bouquet. Then, the couple each moved in one simultaneous movement. His hands went to her waist. Her hands went to his shoulders. They came together for what was only supposed to be a ceremonial touching of the lips.

However, perhaps it was because of their nerves being so high that they both instinctively pressed more towards each other until they were kissing. Really kissing. Getting immersed like they had in the alley. Grasping onto something that was surprisingly now somewhat familiar. Something that felt safe.

And she was safe. Her family was safe.

"Thank you," She immediately whispered to him when they softly parted, eyelids still closed. And she heard him chuckle just as softly, a real and warm chuckle.

They opened their eyes and their gazes met, familiar tawny brown and bright blue that couldn't be mistaken for anything but theirs, an alarming realization settled over them.

They released each other's touch with the same speed as if they were touching a poisonous plant or a feral animal.

Luckily, this visceral reaction went unnoticed to the crowd at large, who were letting out cheers and whoops of encouragement and enthusiasm.

Naomi must have started to sway, because Esteban grabbed her elbow and firmly looped it through his arm as they turned to face the crowd.

The more she looked at the crowd of faces that began to blur together, the more their loud exclamations started to become muted to her, and was instead replaced with a loud buzzing noise she had heard before. 

But where?

And then it hit her.

It had been right after she had just sailed off from a small Polynesian Island in the Languid Sea, deciding whether to return to Avalor, as she had ended up doing, or keep going further South. Naomi hadn’t even taken the bandage off her new wrist tattoo before she had lost the wind in her sail.

She ended up being stranded in the middle of a motionless sea and endless horizons for almost two weeks.

Looking back, she couldn't really recall what she had spent each of those monotonous days doing. All she could remember is how she felt during the times that she would stare up at the bright, unforgiving sun:

Alone, scared, and with hope slowly fading.

****************

The best thing about Port side pubs was that they were always lively and entertaining when the sun went down. A perfect place to trade sailing tips, win money, or to have another sizable crowd of witnesses to call upon to verify that they saw a newly wed couple head up to a room together and stay there the whole night.

Naomi sat on the windows edge with one leg dangling outside, the chilly evening air making the room not feel quite so claustrophobic, even though this was the biggest room they had, according to the owner of the _Stewed Fish Head Inn_.

Esteban was on the opposite side of the room by the fireplace, just staring into the flames of the fire that danced along the logs.

They had claimed these spots as soon as the door to the bedroom had closed behind them. And in the past hour, each had only moved so that Naomi could take off her slippers and Esteban his jacket while he gave the seedy room a dignified sniff.

He shouldn't really complain though, as this was the best they could do on such short notice. That's how this whole day could be summed up though she was reminded when the light had bounced off her cheap ring that was already starting to itch.

“I’m sorry about all this,” Naomi then croaked out, trying to keep her voice steady. She realized as she scratched at her ring finger that she hadn't actually given him an apology since so much had happened in the last few hours. And even with the deed already being done, she still felt like she owed him one.

"Elena would have never forgiven me if I had let anything happen to you," Esteban responded back flatly.

A little miffed that her sincere apology had been tossed aside so easily, Naomi crossed her arms and slumped back against the window frame. "Well, I'll be sure to thank Elena when we get back to Avalor."

She heard him exhale loudly. "I...I didn't want anything to happen to you either, Naomi."

Turning her head back to him with a crease in her brow, she was pleasantly surprised that he was now looking at her and leaning against the fireplace's stone frame in a way that exuded a more casual manner.

Naomi smiled faintly and gave him a light hearted quip. "Thank you for bestowing me with one of those oh-so-rare and sought after compliments of yours."

He rolled his eyes at her in an exaggerated way, and she rotated herself so that her whole body now faced the inside of the bedroom. 

"I do still feel bad that I took away your first. And that your first marriage had to be a loveless one."

“Most Royals marry for political reasons anyways, mostly to stop wars or have allies.” He motioned his back to the direction of the sea. “If you remember, Elena even decided she would do that, if it came down to it for whatever reason.”

Naomi did remember that announcement during a Grand Council meeting before she had left, but she had never believed it would actually happen for a second. True, Elena always seemed to have that natural ability and charm to make everyone fall in love with her, but she had never given out her heart to anyone except Mateo. And once their relationship was official, all Naomi had to do was bet on how long it would take for them to get married. As it should be for everyone.

“Didn't you ever want passion and love?” Naomi asked, even though she was more of an expert on the former rather than the latter, especially during this last year of traveling. And while he was a grouch, he didn't deserve to be unloved, and she knew he was capable of it based on those small moments she had seen when he interacted with his family.

“Don’t you want to share your life with someone who would sail through the 17 seas just to be with you?”

He averted his eyes from hers to look down at the floorboards. “I’ve never had that with anyone.”

He then loudly cleared his throat and walked over to the table where a jug of red wine had been left for them and poured a little into the two wine glasses. “Besides, I’ve lived my life. I don’t...didn’t even think I needed to fit marriage into the hand fate had dealt me.”

Grabbing the wine glasses, Esteban walked over to her perch and handed her one of the glasses. 

Naomi accepted his offer and took a large sip of the dark contents. She couldn't hide how her face scrunched up in disgust at the dry taste, but at least it left a good burn in the back of her throat. 

Hopefully, if she drank enough of this, it would give her enough of an appetite as well, and she could eat some of the meat, cheeses, and bread that had also been set up in their room along with the refreshments.

"So, what are we supposed to tell people when they ask us how or why we got married? Especially these phony royals when they come for me tomorrow?" Naomi asked, thinking how they could save the earlier damage Esteban had done by letting the whole crew know about the marriage. And while she wouldn't mind telling everyone the absolute truth, after that truly awful and horrific encounter with Oswall and Edward, she knew she couldn't afford a second time of saying the wrong thing. Not every again.

"That we had a secret courtship," Esteban began as he turned dramatically on his heels and began to stride away from her. "We have known each other for four years, and worked as members of the Grand Council together that met very frequently. We've gone on Royal holidays together, and you are a close acquaintance with the Queen. It would be more than enough evidence to use for why we decided to get married so suddenly."

"Why do I get the feeling that won't be enough to completely fool them," Naomi said skeptically and pushed herself to sit upright. None of what evidence he had provided had been untrue, they had done all those things together, but there was so much more about him that she didn't even know that could make or break this lie. She hadn't even known what his middle name was until she had heard it at the ceremony.

"Because it probably won't for those pretenders, unless Oswall has gotten senile in his old age. Which given how much more of that foul smelling white wig powder he has to use now, could be true," Esteban said with an actual catty grin on his face. "But it will fool everyone else outside our close friends and families. And that will be enough."

Naomi felt like he needed to elaborate a little more, especially when he sounded so sure of himself. For now though, she had one other question that was more pressing.

"And how are we supposed to spend the next 365 days?"

Esteban's first response to that question was to take a few sips of wine, and honestly, she couldn't blame him. One year had sounded so small and manageable when there had been no other option. But now, saying that three digit number out loud, suddenly made the ring on her finger itch even more.

"I still have my work as a Chancellor. Plus, I have also been running the Royal household and also the Royal Treasurer position. Well, I had been until Isabel found out and got me to lessen the responsibilities even though I told her --" Esteban cut himself off. "My point being is that I still have a firm position at the Palace, so it would only seem fit that you would come and live at the Palace too where we'll set you up in your own Royal apartments."

"But **_I_ **don't have my own official position at the Palace anymore."

"It's tradition that ladies who marry high ranking Royals become ladies-in-waiting to the reigning Queen."

"A lady-in-waiting? That's my job?" Naomi repeated back with a scoff as images of sipping tea and giggling in poofy dresses came to mind. "I suppose it's better than being mistaken for a handmaiden as I have in the past."

And, Naomi also considered that this type of "official" position would keep her close to Elena and watch over her, which is where she wanted to be more than anywhere after this whole ordeal.

Naomi cupped her forehead. "So, let me get this correct: we'll wake up in the morning in our separate rooms, have breakfast together, do paperwork, do separate activities, eat dinner, go back to our rooms, and repeat."

"Yes, that sounds about right."

He said it so apathetically that Naomi almost wanted to ask if he was fooling around. There was no way someone could expect to live their life so monotonous. But since his dry attitude was still the same even after all the turmoil that the day had brought, she knew he was serious. And that arrangement would make this situation the most bearable.

Naomi raised her glass to him. "Alright. Deal." 

Esteban raised his glass as well and they each took a sip of their wine, sealing this agreement.

Naomi felt herself begin to finally relax, when Esteban had to suddenly ruin it by saying, "Also, it would not hurt me in any way if you were to continue your relationship with General Nunez."

She choked lightly on her sip of wine and turned to gape at him. Once again, his expression was serious.

"Surely you don't think that my honor to my vows is so flimsy and my consideration of other people's feelings non-existent?"

His eyebrows creased. "What in the EverRealm are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about!? What are you talking about!?" Naomi exclaimed and leapt off the windowsill. "You're telling me that it's okay to commit adultery."

"It's not really adultery if I tell you--" Esteban pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm telling you it's okay. And if anything, for my pride, I would only ask that you act with some discrepancy."

"We're already in some rough waters right now, and I'm at least being responsible by making sure we do this right." Naomi put a hand on her hip. "And just so you know, Gabe and I have only a friendship. So, not only is there no way that I'm going to even think about doing that, but I'm also not going to do anything to jeopardize this marriage, especially since our 'consummation' of it is in the hands of people who wouldn't know their ass from their elbow right now!"

Esteban only huffed in annoyance at her rant as he drained the rest of his wine and put the glass back down. He then set to work on unbuttoning and rolling up one of his shirt sleeves. Before Naomi could ask him what he was doing, he picked up the small knife by the food platter and did a shallow slice across his forearm. Without hesitation, he threw back the covers of the bed and pressed the fresh blood to the sheets, creating a small red spot.

Esteban gestured his arm to the bed. "There, seemingly consummated."

"Oh Gods above, man!" Naomi put down her glass and quickly grabbed the napkin from the same food tray. "You didn't need to overreact!"

She forced him to sit down on the edge of the bed while she sat down beside him, and wrapped the napkin tightly around his cut. "And, _**it's**_ not supposed to hurt, let alone make a girl bleed if you do it right. So there's no need to seem so brutish."

"This is nothing," Esteban said, his eyes going to the blood spot, but there was also something now faraway in them. "And I don't mind appearing to be a villain to other's if it means surviving."

He hissed slightly as Naomi tied the last little knot too tightly. She hadn't meant too, but Esteban prided himself on always being right that it often resulted in disastrous situations that had luckily been saved by herself or Elena or pretty much anybody nearby. So it sounded so un-Esteban like for him to say that.

"What do you mean by that?" Naomi leaned in closer to him. "What are you hiding?"

That question brought him immediately back to attention as he clenched his jaw and hastily got up from the bed.

"Just put down the bedding and you're free to take the bed." Esteban went over and poured himself another glass of wine. "I'll be staying up to finish that Prune Trading Agreement."

He dug into the pocket of his discarded jacket and took out the rolled up scroll and pen from earlier before taking a seat in one of the armchairs by the fire, and without another word unrolled the parchment to begin working. Leaving Naomi even more confused than she had been before.

She clambered to her feet with the intention of continuing this conversation, but the pounding headache that immediately pulsated in her head from a mixture of wine, lack of food, and immense fatigue put a stop to any fire she might have still had.

Reluctantly, she did as he suggested and flipped the top quilt back down and laid down on the firm bed. Naomi let out an audible groan as she squeezed her eyes tightly and snuggled deep into the pillows as the candlelight in the room only made her headache feel even worse. All of this was accompanied by the sound of infuriatingly loud and annoying pen scratching penetrating the air, courtesy of her...husband.

Only 364 more days to go.


	7. Audience with the "Advisor"

Naomi awoke the next morning to a loud pounding at the bedroom door.

She sat up with a start, rapidly blinking the groggy sleep from her eyes. With a quick scan of the room, it appeared that Esteban had disappeared, leaving behind an empty wine glass and the smoldering remnants of a fire while she had still been asleep. Which was surprising because she didn't remember even really falling asleep, more of bits and pieces of being caught between the conscious and unconscious.

There was another door rattling pounding.

"Are you decent!?" A booming voice yelled out.

After one long stretch, Naomi was able to jump out of bed and make her way across the room to throw open the door. She was greeted by the dower face of the Innkeeper's wife, white hair already coming out of her bun, and sticking out in wiry branches even though it couldn't be that late in the morning.

"Ole Scarlett had this dropped off for you," She said, shoving Naomi's pile of clothes from yesterday into her arms. The woman then bobbed her head around similar to a chicken, looking at Naomi's face with a scrutinizing eye. "Hmph, you may have your father's coloring, but you've definitely got that hard look in the eyes and clearly deadly stubbornness of your mother's."

Before yesterday, Naomi would have taken all that proudly as a compliment. But now, with the context of her mother's past, she felt a lingering bitter taste in the back of her throat and slammed the door shut before the woman could say any more.

Naomi threw down her clothes onto the unused side of the bed and shucked off her wedding dress. She half thought about leaving the thing behind. It would make a nice surprise for one of the bar maids that would have to come clean the room. And the bloodied sheet. However, no matter how much her stomach churned looking at the dress, it's not what a "happy" bride who "passionately" eloped would do.

So, after unceremoniously bunching it up, as she would be shoving it in the bottom of her knapsack anyways, she simultaneously worked on getting dressed and stuffing her face with the hardened bread, cheese, and meats from last nights platter. By the time she had her thick belt with all her tools securely back on her waist, she was feeling more like herself. Or at least much more human.

Naomi picked up her choker and gently thumbed the woven fabric with that bitter taste coming back. If she had already woken up still feeling uneasy, the comment from the Inn Keeper's wife hadn't helped. So, for now, she decided to stuff the choker into her pocket until she had more time to process.

She then drained the rest of the disgusting, now lukewarm wine that was still in her wine glass, grabbed the discarded white slippers, and tossed a coin on the bed as compensation for the barmaid before promptly leaving this wretched bridal chamber.

As she descended down the slightly angled stairs, there was considerably less noise than what had transpired last night. The main taproom now only had a few morning customers, or probably just people who had never left at all. The ones that were awake were quietly shoveling some very lumpy gruel into their mouths. Despite the somber mood of the whole room, the patrons themselves weren't too solemn as they suddenly perked up at the sight of her and made some passing comments.

"Looks like the infamous little Turner has arisen."

"Surprised you can still stand on your feet, most brides barely leave the bed for the first day!"

"Well...satisfied brides do!"

"Come now man, she couldn't very well give her husband a heart attack their first night together."

Raucous laughter reverberated through the taproom, and even the bartender didn't even try to stifle his laugh.

And much to her annoyance, Naomi couldn't even think of a come back. She was no prude, but she tended to keep things like that at least on an innuendo level. And she most certainly didn't think about Esteban that way, and he had made it clear that he felt that way about her either. Plus, she had never even seen him flirt with another person.

At least with food and some sleep, she felt strong enough to have her boots firmly stomp on the ground, and made a solid thud with every step she took as she exited out without any kind of response to these lewd comments, and into the frigid wind of the outside world.

She took a moment to exhale the stale, sour Inn air and inhale the sharp, salty Harbor air.

"Morning ma'am."

Naomi whirled around to face one of the Avaloran Guards who had helped escort the reconnaissance group yesterday, Lieutenant Garcia, standing by the front door to the Inn.

"Chancellor Esteban sent me here to escort you back to the ship."

"Yes, of course he did," Naomi grumbled softly. "Thank you, I hope I didn't keep you waiting long."

"Not at all ma'am," He answered back automatically.

Realizing she would only get protocol over honesty, Naomi just nodded her head in acknowledgment before they both headed back in the direction of **The Wayfarer**.

As they continued along, Naomi observed that if the Inn hadn't given it away already, the harbor most certainly gave away that this was definitely the shady part of the Kingdom. The dilapidated ships all looked like they would sink at the first wave they hit from the faded paint and rotted wood, and some even had their windows all boarded up. Yet, people in varying degrees of dirtied skin and missing teeth conversed in hush tones on these ships, and watched Naomi with such rueful eyes that she felt it necessary to clutch the dress and shoes tighter to her side, hoping to keep them out of sight. She guaranteed that just about any kind of illegal contraband could get smuggled through these sets of docks.

Part of her mind then began to drift to Esteban. It was one thing to have only cockiness and bravado, it was another to have all this and Royal Guards. And even then, two against six was never a fair fight, and would most likely end with them getting mugged or even worse.

She didn't have to be concerned about his safety for long though as she heard his haughty voice before she saw him.

"I'm insulted that you do not take me as a man of my word," Esteban spat at the two Norbergian guards as he stood near the gangway of her mother's ship, but her mother was nowhere in sight.

"She is on her way. So, if you would take your deplorable--"

One of the Norbergian guards then unsheathed his sword and stuck the sharp end right under Esteban's chin. He immediately crumbled in the face of a very real and very pointy threat.

"On second thought, I can go get her right now."

"There's no need," Naomi boldly called out, as she handed the dress and shoes to Lieutenant Garcia before walking towards the trio with her chin held high. "I'm here and ready. So, take me to your leader."

They ended up being brought to Oswall's office. Where he was sitting at a great, sturdy wooden desk that looked hundreds of years old, furiously writing on a piece of paper with a huge peacock plumed quill.

As Naomi and Esteban were pushed more into the room by the guards, she let her hand rest on her hip, already feeling uneasy as she had tried and failed to remember the twists and turns of the hallways they had been escorted down. 

Despite the uncertainty of how she felt about being around her mother now, it still would've been at least comforting to have her so they could be able to exit this Palace. Naomi hadn't seen her mother since last night, when they had parted at the Inn. Scarlett had stated that she wanted to go try and find Max. Naomi assumed this was Max, the Harbor Master, which she could understand the urgency to go find him. That desperate want to try and find one person in Norberg who wasn't under the spell of the Phony King.

However, with the original reconnaissance group down a member and the Avalor Guards, who had been forced to stay behind as this was now 'an act of Nobergian law and justice,' Naomi was beginning to doubt if this whole marriage scam had even worked. And it was pondering this doubt that had caused her to lose her sense of direction sometime after she had noted 'the murder duck' painting on the third floor, and when she came back to focus, they were already at a pair of imposing, heavy doors in some unknown part of the castle.

Naomi only could surmise that they were next to the library, thanks to the set of doors inside Oswall's office that were opened into it. Besides that, the only thing that truly stuck out to her were the bird cages. Tens of shiny gold cages lined all sides of the room, and each were filled with a different type of species of birds: snowy ravens, miniature sparrows, black winged hawks, vermillion parrots, vultures, and even a South Rainforest toucan.

One could go deaf from their simultaneous chirps and squawks clashing together. Except, none of the birds didn't make a single sound. They all remained demure and still in their cages. And that’s what disturbed Naomi the most.

"Chancellor Esteban and Miss Naomi Turner, Advisor Thornbuckle," One of the Guards announced loudly.

However, the crook didn't look up to them, choosing to instead continue whatever he was so adamantly writing about and forcing them to wait for a very tense minute, before finally finishing up with a great flourish of his hand.

"Esteban," Oswall said with an over-familiarity and what actually sounded like pride. "I'm so glad you are still seeing reason."

Esteban bowed only slightly. "Mr. Thornbuckle."

Naomi watched as Oswall leaned down and out of site with a stack of papers, but she could hear the opening and closing of a drawer followed by a loud click of a lock. The phony advisor reemerged and arose from his chair. He had a comically large key in hand that he tucked into the wrist of his jacket.

"Please, have a seat."

The politeness was clearly just for formalities sake, as everything about this situation felt unpleasant, especially from the two guards that stood right behind their chairs, and Naomi could feel them practically breathing down her neck.

Oswall gestured to a tray beside his desk. "Let me get you each a cup of iced Sweet Tea, it's quite refreshing and my personal favorite."

Naomi tilted her head and tried paying close attention as she heard him talk, though she wished not to. But, it was hearing him now and having replayed his words from yesterday over and over again in her poor attempts to fall asleep, that she fully realized that she couldn't in fact place his accent. It was too raspy to match Shuriki's Northern Isles one, but too clear in his hard vowels to be from too far South either. It was like he was from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. She would have to hear more though to make a full assessment.

"You've got quite the collection of birds," She mentioned impassively.

"Yes, my little ones keep me company," Oswall said as he paused in his pouring to run a finger along one gilded cage that held the black winged Hawk, and Naomi hoped for a moment that the creature would bite his finger off. Especially when she saw an obscenely large, gold ring on said finger, the huge blood red, ruby winked at her. Had he had it the whole time? More and more details about him seemed to be coming forward with no 'charming' Edward standing in front of him.

"Not to mention they keep me connected to my friends all over the EverRealm. I do so love to read and write letters. Keeps the mind sharp even if my hands are becoming unfortunately a little shaky."

Naomi shuddered at what his definition of 'friends' was.

"Interesting. Didn't you used to refer to them as 'amigos' and loved hot Limón tea when you were in Avalor?" Esteban asked, taking the glass offered to him.

"I had an enjoyable time in Avalor that I wished to be as much part of the culture as I could. Though, if I can be honest now, I preferred the time I got to spend in Nueva Vista than the City Center," Oswall said casually, passing a glass to Naomi but not taking his eyes off Esteban. "But at least I did leave the City Center in your capable hands."

'Under the tyrannical rule of SHURIKI!' Naomi practically screamed in her mind, biting down on her cheek so hard that she was now anticipating when she would taste the copper of her blood.

Esteban though just quietly swirled the tea around in his glass. "Where is his Royal Majesty?"

"I'm afraid his Royal Majesty is still in bed sleeping and cannot be present." Oswall walked over to the cage with the sparrow and pulled out a piece of seed from his pocket, and fed it to the tiny creature. 

"He had quite the night entertaining his subjects and spreading good cheer."

Naomi clenched her teeth. Here she was, her life hanging in the balance, while that kid got to sleep off a hangover. She really just wanted to declare that she and Esteban were wed and be on their merry way. However, she had reluctantly agreed to let Esteban lead the conversation this time.

The only thing keeping her truly compliant at this moment though, was that the fact that she could still be able to throw Esteban over her shoulder if he was the one to mess up this time, and they had to make a break for it.

"I see," Esteban said calmly, stroking his beard. "Still, it must be exhausting, considering that not everyone of the distinguished nobility must fully accept this young...man as their new ruler. They must talk, and I've always been a fan of gossip."

Oswall actually chuckled at this. "Well, there is always a grace period between the transitions of power, as you are aware of."

“I suppose so, since by law, Chloe is still the rightful ruler following the line of succession," Esteban said with ease, and even crossed one of his legs over the other to imitate an air of easiness.

"That may be, but she is still nowhere to be found," Oswall replied back coolly as he opened the cage and took out the sparrow. Even with a hand wrapped around it, the sparrow didn't chirp or even try to flap its wings. “Not to mention, it’s already being deliberated that her status may no longer be valid.”

An audible 'what?' slipped from Naomi's lips and caused the grin on Oswall's face to grow. 

He gently petted one green tinted finger along the sparrows head, and Naomi tensed and focused on keeping contact with it's small black eyes, looking for any sign of distress. A habit she had unconsciously developed after seeing her friends and enemies shapeshift in to animals several times. She could never look at creatures the same way again for that reason.

“You may not know this Miss Turner, as it was before your time, but the only reason that divorce is legal in Norberg is thanks to the selfish and frankly taxing battle of legalizing it by Queen Abigail.”

“And if you know anything, then you would know that Queen Abigail was already pregnant with Princess Chloe when she started that battle for a divorce from her husband, Prince Edgar,” Esteban debated back. He had clearly in fact done his research on more than just trade agreements involving disgusting fruits. "That is, if you're implying illegitimacy surrounding the Princess's birth in any way."

“Well, it’s also public knowledge that Queen Abigail was already living in separate apartments from Prince Edgar at the time. She didn’t even have the decency to invite him or any of his family to Princess Chloe's Name Day ball," Oswall said as he put the innocent sparrow back in it's cage, and Naomi let out a low sigh of relief.

"And while the Queen had gotten her way, it still ripped apart the very sacred sanctity of marriage and family, and the common folk began to abuse it. It's even seen as **_one_ **of the unpopular choices she made throughout her reign." Owsall leered at Naomi, but she didn't need him to clarify that he was talking about her mother as she sneered at him.

"So, this matter was brought to his majesty's attention, and he's decided to make his first act as Ruler of Norberg to reverse this law on divorce." Oswall approached the two of them, the light reflecting off his monocle so harshly that it gave him the appearance of only having one eye. "Once this is all said and done, it will also officially declare Princess Chloe as a bastard and fully legitimize King Edward's claim to the throne."

"Still, as Queen Abigail had done, something this big and sacred will require the written support of a more holier variety. And that council, safely hidden in the North valley, has already decided to drag their feet on this matter and could take several months to finalize. I'm afraid we're all, even a King, still at the mercy of someone more powerful." Oswall placed a hand on both Esteban and Naomi's shoulders, as if trying to show understanding to this supposed plight they all shared, even though Naomi never thought this with Elena, not even once.

"Still, I really do hate things that waste my time."

He curled his fingers and his nails bit down into both of their shoulders. Naomi, much to Oswall's pleasure, jumped from the contact while Esteban was able to keep his composure, any effect only shown by his hand grasping the armchair tighter.

Oswall released his contact on them and strolled back over to his desk, taking off his monocle to once again wipe down the already shining and clear glass.

Her throat feeling parched, Naomi lifted up the glass to take a small sip of the tea, knowing the excellent sugary taste of the drink from the last time she had had it with her parents a few years ago and hoping it would calm down her anger.

But, before the glass could touch her lips, Esteban's hand harshly clamped down over the rim of the glass and caused a few drops of it to slosh onto her white shirt.

Annoyed and confused, she turned to give him a harsh glare, but it was instantly disarmed by the insistent shaking of Esteban's head as he motioned to the drink again.

Catching onto his meaning, Naomi hastily set the drink back on the tray like it was on fire and wiped her hand on her breeches. She did her best to swallow some saliva to try and quench her throat that felt even drier now.

"Well, we have much to do, so you are free to leave, Chancellor." Oswall looked back to them and patted his breast pocket. "I could pull out and show the warrant, but that seems unnecessary and highly undignified."

The guard standing behind Naomi suddenly grabbed both of her elbows and held them back. She was about to start kicking her legs and stamping down her foot when Esteban grabbed her shoulder.

"Actually, she will be leaving with me."

"Oh?"

"Yes. After all, she's my wife."

The word seemed to echo throughout the large room as it became instantly and deadly silent.

Oswall refitted his monocle back on his eye. "Come now Esteban, you were never one for jokes."

Without wasting a second, Esteban presented the Marriage Certificate to Oswall, which clearly showed his elegant and swirly signature right next to Naomi's more sharp signature, that also included the heavily ink blotted _**de**_ that she had hastily added when they had signed this after the wedding ceremony and now . It was a good thing that Avaloran tradition allowed her to keep her maiden name alongside her married one.

"Naomi and I have had a secret and forbidden love affair," Esteban said with a dramatic wave of his hand. Although, he could have said it in a tone not so flat. "And seeing that she could be taken away from me forever, made me realize we couldn't wait any longer and got married early last evening."

Oswall didn't say anything as he leaned his backside against the edge of his desk.

He then held the certificate close, very dangerously close, to the lit candle that sat on the desk.

Naomi stiffened.

There was no way he could just burn that paper and undo all the work they had done. Or could he?

The fact that Naomi had no idea was driving her mad as she dug her feet into the ground. Ready to elbow the guard, spring up, and tackle Oswall for the paper at the first sign of an ember.

"Is this really the path you want to go down, Esteban?" Oswall asked in a way that confirmed Naomi's prediction from last night, he wasn't believing the secret lovers story.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. Thornbuckle," Esteban said calmly, though he did take a few steps forward so that he stood right in front of the man. "If you're worried, my family will support this marriage, they are all extremely fond of Miss Tur--Naomi."

"Ahhh," Oswall then said , moving the certificate away from the flame. "Still at the mercy of your family's bidding I see. Some things truly never change."

His head then turned to Naomi and cocked it ever so slightly. "Are you really that important? From what I've gathered, Queen Elena uses the term "friend" too freely. Even the list of her "favorites" is twice as long than what would be deemed standard, so I thought you were just another name."

Feeling more assured that this plan had actually worked somehow, Naomi replied, "As you said, we're all at the mercy of more powerful people. I'm sure with people like Shuriki and Edward, you're probably just another name to them too."

Rather than appearing offended at such a harsh jab, Oswall let out an amused chuckle and made a motion. The guard released her. "Very true, my dear."

Oswall passed the certificate back to Esteban, which he took and immediately replaced with a rolled up scroll in the older man's hand.

"And this?"

"The trade agreement for the prunes."

"Ah, yes, the prunes." Oswall picked up his overcompensating quill and signed it before handing it back to Esteban.

"You're not even going to read it?" Naomi asked appalled, having enough of his over cocky attitude once again.

Oswall shrugged. "I trust Esteban not to test me. He knows better than that."

"But this is for the good of this Kingdom, one I know you're not a part of," Naomi pressed on, and Esteban shot her the same warning glare from yesterday. But, she had to at least try and leave here with something on this guy, and she still hadn't figured out the accent.

"It is true that I do not belong to Norberg by blood," Oswall said as he smoothly pushed himself from the desk and stalked over to her.

"However, I have no problem having no home country for I know that I am highly adaptable." Oswall placed a finger under her chin and lifted her head up with it slowly, making a point to dig the tip of his neatly manicured fingernail painfully into her skin. She could even feel the cold metal of his large ruby ring looming close to her throat. "And despite your many glorified tales of travel, can you say you are the same, little finch? Truly?"

Naomi didn't want to dignify him with an answer, but that seemed to be the reaction he had been wanting based on the wide grin that stretched and wrinkled his greenish skin.

"Well, a pleasant time seeing you as always, Advisor Thornbuckle," Esteban said as he pulled Naomi to him.

"As do I. I look forward to restarting our pen pal relationship from all those years ago, Chancellor Esteban."

Esteban actually flinched for the first time during this whole ordeal, but covered it up with a smile that looked like it was trying very hard to appear charming and another small bow.

Oswall gave Naomi one more penetrating look. "Any other invigorating words from you, little finch, before our time together is cut so tragically short?"

"There's a smear on your monocle."

The coachmen looked surprised from his seat as Naomi and Esteban approached. No doubt having not expected two people to return.

Naomi was then surprised herself as the guard that had been on their heels this whole time, and the one that had held her arms back, quickened his pace around them so that he could open the carriage door and offer a hand for assistance.

Insulted by this sudden act of chivalry, Naomi ignored this and easily leapt into the carriage.

Esteban, however, took the guard's offer. Naomi saw a sudden smirk form on his lips before taking a seat across from her. There was a tap from the outside and the coach lurched forward.

After a few minutes passed and the smirk still hadn't faded, Naomi finally asked, "What's got you looking so pleased?"

Esteban did a quick glance around before leaning forward and unfurling his hand to reveal a small slip of paper.

"Where did that come from?"

"It seems Oswall doesn't have as firm of a hold on the Norberg subjects as he thinks he and Edward do. At least, not with their guards."

Naomi raised her eyebrows at this. It was possible for a secret message to be passed along in a matter of seconds?

It must have been, for when Esteban unfolded the paper, it revealed eight sloppily written words.

_Princess Alive_

_Location Unknown to all in Norberg_

"That still doesn't tell us a lot," Naomi said frankly. She wanted to be excited at this piece of evidence they now possessed, but after everything that had transpired in the last 24 hours, even in the last hour, including her failed last minute interrogation attempt, it left her more cynical than before.

"The EverRealm is vast, so we don't even know where to start looking for her."

"This is true," Esteban said with a quick stroke of his beard. "However, this also tells us the advantage that we have."

"Which is?"

"That neither Oswall nor Edward know where she is either."

*************

Naomi had never felt so grateful to be back in the water again. She honestly would have started swimming back to Avalor if she had had to wait another second longer.

As she hung from the rigging of **The Wayfarer** , which had already been ready to set sail when she and Esteban had returned. It was currently at top speed, and Naomi watched as the Kingdom began to grow smaller and smaller, while also feeling a sense of heaviness being lifted from her chest as it finally disappeared over the horizon.

However, the weight still wasn't fully removed as Naomi took her mother's words from last night to heart. Everything that had happened in these last two days wouldn't just suddenly disappear just because she was no longer in the Kingdom. 

If anything, this only felt like the beginning.

Those worries were temporarily set aside, however, as Naomi had been right about those dark clouds that had followed them to Norberg that had now turned into a raging, rough storm. It forced everyone to scramble and be on high alert for things like: changing sails, and tying down loose items at a moments notice as the stabbing, and freezing rain pelting down on them mercilessly. And when they weren't on deck, there wasn't time to focus on anything else besides taking small fitful naps and slurping down many cups of hot broth and whiskey to fight off the chill.

By the time they passed over the Mid-Azul Ridge and the sky cleared, and the Ancient Sea Gods of Old, Millalbo as it was called in this region, let the sea become calm, everyone was exhausted.

The whole ordeal had allowed Naomi to not have to talk to both Scarlett, Esteban or even any of the crew, especially the ones who knew about their marriage, unless to receive or give out orders. But, she knew she couldn't keep up this childish behavior when Avalor came into view: with it's same busy Ports, patrolling Jaquins, and picturesque Palace.

It was at the busy port that she and Esteban separated from her mother, leaving Scarlett to handle finishing docking and unloading the ship. She would also be the first to meet up with Daniel as he was still out on his weekly patrol.

Naomi did watch her father's small schooner come in to port from her seat in the hydro-gondola that was taking her and Esteban up to the palace.

She was nervously now twisting at her fingers, anticipating what would come next. Elena had sent her out with a job to do, and that job would include debriefing her on everything that had happened. Everything.

Naomi got a real sense of déjà vu when they stepped out of the hydro-gondola and Esteban extended a hand to unnecessarily help her. She thought for a moment of jumping past him as she had done last time, but with everything they had experienced together, it would seem too rude to do at this point. So, she consented and he awkwardly grasped her fingers and led her off the coach.

“Chancellor! Naomi!”

The two quickly released each other’s hands, even though in retrospect there was nothing suspicious or particularly intimate about what they had been doing, as Armando greeted them.

“Armando, where’s Elena at? It’s imperative that we speak to her immediately as it is a matter of national security,” Esteban said, for once, his dramatics not being unwarranted.

Armando started to look around slightly nervously. "Umm...well...we can't find the Queen!" He finally blurted out. "We've been trying to find her since one of the patrolling Jaquins reported seeing your ship."

While Esteban started looking vexed, Naomi simply asked, "Is Mateo gone too?"

"Why, yes! I was hoping he might know where she might be at."

Naomi sighed with a slight shake of her head in good humor. It seemed that both marriage and a pregnancy hadn't gotten rid of that childish and mischievous side of them.

"Then they're probably in their _'secret spot.'_ "

Sure enough, they found the couple curled up together in a large arm chair in the music room, one of the most popular rooms in the Palace, whispering and laughing to one another. It had taken a second to spot Mateo as he was practically buried under Elena's voluminous red skirts as she sat on his lap.

Everyone in the approaching group averted their eyes. But, it wasn't deemed necessary, this time, as Elena immediately exclaimed, "You're already back!"

She quickly worked on scrambling to her feet, which required some maneuvering and assistance from her husband thanks to the dress and baby.

Once she had her balance, Elena easily ran over to the two of them and pulled them into a hug.

She then pulled back and launched into a volley of questions in a slightly reprimanding tone, similar to the one she used when she was scolding Isabel. 

“Why didn’t you write that you were returning so quickly!? Do you know how worried I was? Do you know how many times I’ve been asking Mateo to try and let me use farsight?” She waved a hand, “But anyways, did you find the person from the Northern Isles? How’s Chloe and Queen Abigail?"

Shockingly, neither Esteban or Naomi started speaking right away. Though, given the fact that there was so much that had happened, where was the best place to start? At the beginning? Queen Abigail's death? Oswall’s confirmed identity?

Elena immediately caught onto this unusual silence from two of the most opinionated people in all of Avalor and asked, "What's wrong?"

"We need to talk to you." Esteban's eyes glanced around to the others. "Preferably, in private first."

Elena looked like she wanted to object to this, but Naomi must have had a pleading look on her face, as she instantly agreed to this when she turned back to look at Naomi.

“Alright,” Elena said with a nod. “Mateo, can you watch the door. And Armando, can you please send a Jaquin to **The Wayfarer**. See if we can get a report from Captain Turner as soon as possible.”

“Of course, _mi amor_.”

“At once, your grace.”

"You better take a seat too," Esteban said once the doors closed behind them, taking Elena’s arm and guiding her back to the armchair she had previously been grossly cuddling on.

Elena just rolled her eyes and shrugged off his hand. "Esteban, I’ve not suddenly grown to having ‘fainting spells’ because of the baby, so stop beating around the bush." She faced Naomi, "What happened in Norberg?"

Despite the question being seemingly directed at her, both her and Esteban immediately started talking, each starting at different points of the story. They each huffed out a sigh before starting at the same time again, this time at even more wildly different points of the story.

By this point, Elena didn’t seem to care who was going to start as she kept looking between the two of them, hands now on her hips to show her growing irritation.

Perhaps they should have talked a little more before they had gotten here. At least they could have actually had a solid plan in place on just who was going to say what. Realizing this was partially her fault, Naomi lifted up a hand and nervously pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"What happened to your finger?" Elena abruptly asked, pointing to the hand that was raised up.

Naomi looked at her hand and saw nothing that was new to her. However, she supposed Elena was talking about the green ring around her third finger. Naomi and Esteban had stopped wearing their rings mid-voyage, mainly because the rings had been in fact so counterfeit that it had turned both of their skin green where it had rested.

"Oh, the wedding ring was made of some really cheap material that left some discoloration,” Naomi said off-handedly.

"Wedding ring?"

Realizing what she had just said, Naomi felt like she could have bitten her tongue right off. But, there was no turning back now.

“Where my wedding ring had been,” Naomi repeated back as nonchalantly as she could. “Esteban and I are married.”

Naomi watched as Elena’s face transformed from surprise, to confusion, to humorous as she even let out an uncomfortable and forced laugh. However, when neither Esteban nor Naomi still denied this, Elena finally ended with pure, eye widening, jaw dropping shock.

"What!?" She shrieked loudly and Naomi flinched from the abrasiveness of it.

To make matters worse, Elena’s exclamation caused such alarm that the music room’s doors burst open, and not only did Mateo come in, but also Francisco and Luisa who had suddenly shown up in the short amount of time.

How did word travel so fast in such a large Palace?

Before the now forming crowd could ask what was wrong, Elena cleared it up, “What do you mean you got married?”

A waved of emotions rippled throughout the group, mostly mirroring the same process Elena had just gone through.

Francisco was the first to respond though with, “What does she mean you got married?”

“It was all strictly for Miss Tur--Naomi’s safety,” Esteban said matter-of-factly, though, Naomi could see that the tips of his ears were pink. “So, Naomi and I had a proper ceremony, and signed the marriage certificate, certifying her place as an Avaloran citizen."

“You got married and had A WEDDING? An actual wedding?” Luisa asked.

“That's what he said,” Naomi said flatly, crossing her arms tightly.

“You wore a wedding dress?” Mateo input unnecessarily, and Naomi had to hold back the urge to punch him in his skinny arm.

“Enough!” Elena exclaimed, but unlike at that fateful council meeting, it wasn’t said in anger, as her dress didn’t flash orange, but more in her being overwhelmed as it did briefly flash purple.

Elena rubbed the sides of her temples and took a calming breath. “So, back up, why did Naomi have to get married for her safety?” Elena then raised her chin and fixed them with a queenly stare. “What happened in Norberg?”

Still reeling from the mortification as these people, who she had considered as extended family, gawked at them, Naomi gestured to Esteban for him to take the lead in catching the group up to speed.

And after needlessly smoothing out his jacket, he adopted a more professional stance, one that seemed like it knew how to deliver bad news, and he started the tale from when they had docked in Norberg.

Naomi didn’t remain silent for long though, as she was able to jump in and take over parts of the story, especially when it got to Oswall and Edward’s threats to her that made her blood boil all over again.

There was the omission of a few minor and not needed details: like the alleyway kiss, the wedding night discussion, and Scarlett’s confession, as Naomi hadn’t wanted to think about, let alone repeat any of it. However, those things were hardly missed as Esteban and Naomi were able to relay practically every word that the Phony King and Slimy Advisor had spoken to them, and those were definitely the most important.

By the end of the grisly tale with Esteban revealing the secret note that he had kept on his person the entire time since, Elena still hadn’t taken a chair like he had suggested earlier, but was obviously being supported by Mateo.

Even Francisco and Luisa were supporting each other as well. The reactions were all understandable. While it hadn’t been perfect, the EverRealm and more specifically Avalor had been living in a time of peace for the past six years, and definitely in the last three.

Now, with a close ally's kingdom already having begun to spiral because of a greedy invader, just like it had happened here in Avalor 47 years ago, who knows what could happen next?

And just in case there were any doubts, Esteban pulled out the marriage certificate and passed it to Elena.

She took it carefully and looked over it intently.

"Naomi Turner De Flores," she read.

Naomi swallowed hard.

No one had said her new name out loud until this moment.

And now, hearing it, in Avalor, among the Royal family, Esteban’s family, any thoughts of lingering self-doubt were now diminished forever.

Thankfully, before any of the horrific quietness could continue to grow, Elena took over the conversation.

“I shall file this away for safekeeping in the official Royal archives.” She folded her hands in front of her, certificate still in hand. “For now though, we can all agree that finding Chloe and making sure she is safe should be our top priority. Once we know that, we can deal with this Edward and Oswall.”

"We should not push them to the side so easily, _Prima_ ," Esteban then said.

"I'm not," Elena argued back. "But, if you feel that strongly about it, what can you tell us about Oswall?"

That looked like that was the last thing he wanted to do as everyone turned their rapt attention to him, including Naomi. She hadn't asked Esteban this question yet herself, as she had been confident for the time on relying on her own solid opinions about Oswall as a sneak and a sadist.

Esteban took a slight step backwards and cleared his throat. "Well, I unfortunately don't have that much. He was with Shuriki already as her right hand man when she first took over Avalor. But he disappeared out of Avalor's City Center a couple years later, after he had taught and passed along the responsibility to...me."

He then shook his head. “Anyways, I will start drawing up a list of our many allies that I personally know and get in contact with them immediately,” Esteban said in grandeur haste and quickly left the room without another word or glance to anyone. Leaving them all in a brief stunned silence at his unusually hurried attitude.

“I will go check on him," Francisco said. And with a quick and reassuring pat on Luisa, Elena, and surprising her, Naomi’s arms, he left the room as well.

“Mateo,” Elena said, placing a hand on his chest. “I want you on location spells. We might not be able to get an exact location, but maybe we can still get a general area of where Chloe may be at.”

“You got it. I’ll start at my workshop and then move onto the secret _biblioteca_ ,” Mateo said, placing a kiss on Elena’s cheek before deciding this time to walk there rather than take his usual golden, cloudy transportation spell.

Luisa then grabbed Naomi’s hands.

“You will stay here tonight, Naomi,” She said in her best _abuela_ voice.

“Esteban says that I’ll need to start living here soon too,” Naomi stated, mustering up a small smile for her at least.

“Well, that will be something for later. For now, just worry about getting a good meal tonight with some nice company.” Luisa patted Naomi’s cheek, and Naomi felt it get pleasantly warm where the older woman’s hand had touched.

Luisa extended even more of her natural ability to do the right thing at the right time as she closed the music room doors behind her as she left, so that Naomi and Elena were completely alone.

Naomi instantly rubbed her eyes. She could work from sunup to sun down on the docks, and yet this conversation had already made her feel exhausted.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to see Elena’s soft and sympathetic brown eyes. Eyes that looked like they had a million things they wanted to say. But in the end, she settled for something simple.

"I'm glad you're safe."

And that’s all Naomi needed, as she felt the strength leave her body and she collapsed into her best friend's arms for a tight hug, content in knowing that at least one thing hadn't changed.


	8. Silver and Gold

Naomi could still remember the first time she had stayed at the Royal Palace right before her 16th birthday.

She, of course, had seen palaces before that time, coming in all shapes, styles, and colors. Some had been made out of shining white marble while others had been daunting gray bricks. Some had tall spires that touched the sky, and others had brightly painted domes.

No matter where Naomi had traveled to though, they all shared the same idea of being the most enviable place in all the Kingdom. The place where little kids, and even adults, fantasized about living in their daydreams as they slogged through their hard labor. However, Naomi had always been content with her life of traveling aboard a ship, that her mind never really dabbled in those fantasies. Though, looking at it now, perhaps it was partially because she hadn't known any other way of living.

So, at the time, Elena had had to practically beg her to come stay at the Palace when Naomi revealed that both her parents would be gone for a week. And even now, her rooms, or Royal apartments, as Esteban had corrected her, were still very overwhelming, and with way too much space for her liking.

She was someone who had been able to sleep in hammocks, a top of crates, in the sand on beaches, sitting upright during Council meetings, and even against a park wall with some adorable piglets. She had also just spent the last few years living on a small schooner for EverRealm's sake, she could live downsized if she needed to.

So, did she really need a huge four poster bed, writing desk area in the corner, a living room area with multiple couches, a fireplace, and a large mostly empty wardrobe?

The only real comfort right now was that these were the very apartments Naomi had stayed in during that very first visit, and every time she had stayed after. So the lingering of fond memories still hung in the air.

Naomi readjusted her lounging position in the window sill nook that overlooked the sea. She was also currently reading through the first draft chapters for Dr. Mendoza's newest book on Ancient Maru that was scheduled to be coming out in a few months. Reading them brought her back to the time when she was her sort-of kind-of unpaid-research-assistant, which helped in creating a sense of normality and distraction to Naomi's world. Considering that every day since her and Esteban had returned from Norberg had been anything but.

There was then a knock at the door.

"It's open!" Naomi called out in reply, not bothering to take her eyes off the pages to see who entered the room.

Part of the reason for this being that there were only a few people that she saw and really interacted with nowadays that there was no reason to be on such high alert. And, the other part being that if it was someone like one of the Palace staff, she didn’t want to eye contact and therefore by social protocol have to make stiff small talk; all the while they tried desperately not to ask what they really wanted to know. Which was what had happened in Norberg, and why exactly Naomi made such a sudden move to the Palace. That seemed to be the newest mystery around here that had everyone enraptured based on how many not so subtle whispers the staff made to one another.

"Ahoy Captain."

Naomi immediately sat straight up and twisted her body around so that she could face Elena as the Queen used her foot to close the door behind her.

"Did you receive any letters today?" Naomi asked, not caring how desperate she may have sounded.

Elena and Esteban had wasted no time in writing out secret letters to their most closely allied Kingdoms, and had them sealed and securely tied around the various Jaquins legs that would be taking them there. They may have not been the most stealthy mode of delivery, but being intelligent, speaking, powerful creatures would certainly make them hard to intercept.

"You sure you don't want a nice cup of _Champurrado_ first?" Elena asked, raising two red mugs up with a large, cheesy, and fake grin on her face.

Naomi only cocked an eyebrow up in response.

Elena sighed and took a seat on the large trunk that sat at the foot of Naomi's bed. A trunk that Elena had kept safe in the palace as it had held the few simple dresses that Naomi owned, including the one she was wearing now, since they hadn't had much purpose during her time as an explorer.

Elena sighed again and put the mugs down next to her. "I did, but it's not with any good news."

"Any news is welcomed by this point," Naomi egged on, wanting her to get to the point.

Elena nodded her head in agreement. "So far, from our friends close by: Cordoba, Paraiso, Cariza, and Galonia, no one has seen or heard anything from Chloe. None of them even knew the situation that was going on in Norberg."

"How is that possible!?" Naomi asked, absolutely astounded. It was one thing for one kingdom to not be in the loop, but practically every Kingdom in the Eastern Hemisphere? Not that was getting dicey.

"That's what I want to know, myself. Especially about that Oswall guy." Elena grabbed her chin in contemplation. "He just shows up out of nowhere to help Shuriki take over Avalor, and then, according to Esteban, just as suddenly disappears from the kingdom 20 years ago, and now reappears in Norberg. He certainly sounds dangerous."

"Well, now that your allies know they're dangerous too, they can help at least slow down any progress, and prevent Oswall and Edward from fully taking over Norberg for good, right?"

"Even I know that it's not that simple, _amiga_ ," Elena said pensively. "Monarchs are supposed to be servants to the people of their kingdom. And that means cutting ties with Norberg would also be considering terminating trade deals, not having the prestigious and famous Norberg Navy ships in times of crisis, and also putting the lives of their Ambassadors that are traveling abroad in danger."

That response certainly revealed a more mature and different Elena that only a few years ago had made up the position of _Supreme Commanding Master Chief Admiral of the Avalor Coast Guard_ for Scarlett and suggested freezing the entire Kingdom's harbor just so Naomi wouldn't have to move away from Avalor.

But, Naomi was both happy at her friend for having such a clear mind through all this, and annoyed that she herself was being incredibly rash and impatient right now as she scratched the back of her bare neck in agitation.

"Hey, we still haven't heard back from Maarswik, Napurna, Satu, and even Hectoria. King Hector and Queen Abigail had seemed to be making progress, granted very slow, progress according to one of Chloe’s more recent letters." Elena then perked up. "I could even send a letter to King Pescoro in Coronado! He might have heard something or being a Sirena, he might even run in the same circles as Maliga as they're both undersea creatures."

"Maliga? The sea nymph you wrote to me about?"

Elena nodded. "Her and Chloe had been growing closer ever since Chloe's...unpredictable birthday party a few years ago, and Maliga was making pretty regular trips to Norberg to visit her. They even had this way of communicating with shells." Elena tugged at one end of her bangs in agitation. "Oh! I hope I have that letter saved somewhere!"

Naomi didn't get too excited at this idea, as she wasn't too ready to put her own trust in a sea creature helping out. Hard to easily stamp out what were once considered the watery 'monsters' of her childhood, even if Elena had made an official peace treaty with them. But by this point, maybe Chloe had turned into a nymph or even a Sirena as Queen Camila had. It certainly seemed like she had vanished into thin air.

Naomi pulled herself back though before she could start exploring too far down the conspiracy theorist hole, and focused on the facts. And the fact remained that Elena was right, there were still plenty of letters to receive and good news that could fly in at any moment. And there was no point in stressing out her friend who was already doing so much for her.

So, Naomi put on a smile and stuck out her hand. "I'll take that _Champurrado_ now, your royal, joyal majesty."

Her plan worked as Elena's mood instantly got brighter, even with no need for the magic dress to show it, and passed a cup to Naomi.

The girls clinked their mugs together, and tipped back their drinks. Naomi was instantly flooded with the sweet taste of chocolate and cinnamon, and wondered how she could have gone this long being back in Avalor and not had a cup of Armando's famous and award winning _Champurrado_ until now.

"You said you were unpacked all the way," Elena then said as she reached behind her and pulled up Naomi's still very full knapsack.

"Oh, I always have that thing packed and ready to go, in case I needed to hit the ground running," Naomi explained casually. "Grew up making sure I could have my whole life ready to go in a day and move to the next port."

"Well, you're home now."

Naomi put on another smile for her and nodded.

"Great, so let's unpack it." Elena pulled the strings of the knapsack, opened the top, and began to carefully pull out the contents and lay them gently on the bed.

It wasn't entirely necessary to have this much care as it only held the essential things that had seen bad days: an extra shirt and breeches, two pairs of thick socks, a fire making kit of flint and tinder, a cheap compass, and her lasso.

Elena froze though when she pulled out the wedding dress.

Naomi had completely forgotten about that thing.

She hadn't even had a full conversation with Esteban since moving to the palace, both of them keeping to the agreement that they had made on their wedding night. Such as today, she had only seen him at breakfast (where they sat at opposite ends of the table and didn't say a word to each other beyond pleasantries in passing), before he was then suddenly pulled out of the room at Luisa's behest just as the plates were about to start being cleared.

Elena rubbed a piece of the lace sleeve between her forefinger and thumb. "I still can't believe--"

"Elena," Naomi cut in sharply.

"Right. Right. I know we're not talking about it," Elena said, waving a hand. She did, however, shake out the dress and carefully fold it into a neat pile.

"How are your parents by the way?” She asked, giving the wedding dress pile one more smoothing out. “I've wanted to give them space and not bombard them with questions. I know it's been a hard couple of days and a lot has happened."

Naomi instantly avoided Elena's gaze, and instead became very interested in the flower pattern on her dress's skirt, tracing the yellow stitches with her finger.

"Have you talked to your parents at all?"

Naomi swallowed hard. "No."

Naomi felt a stab in her gut as she said it. Torn between guilt and determination.

She hadn't even asked her mother yet why she had let the crew attend the wedding even though she knew better than Naomi how they were. True, no consequence had emerged from that decision yet, but it could only be a matter of time before something did happen. And no matter what it was, it couldn't end well.

"You shouldn't be angry with them," Elena said gently. She had said the same thing when Naomi had first revealed Scarlett's secret to her that night her and Esteban had returned.

"I'm not angry with them...or maybe I am a little...I'm just, I'm just..." Naomi threw a hand up in the air in exasperation. "I don't fully know what exactly. Betrayed? Sad? Confused?"

Naomi gripped her mug tightly. "Maybe all of the above."

Elena's sisterly instincts immediately came out as she came over and squeezed herself in the nook, before putting an arm around Naomi's shoulders and pulling her close into her side.

"Would you have preferred that they didn't tell you the truth at all?"

Naomi shook her head. "No, we've always been open with each other. So much so that it hurts...it hurts because it feels like they lied to me by waiting to tell me so long and only because they had to."

"I'm sure they didn't mean it that way," Elena said, rubbing Naomi's arm. "Shouldn't you go down and talk to them? Give you all a chance to fix this."

Naomi sighed. "I don't know if it could be that simple."

"But they're your parents--"

"And what would you do if you found out that your parents killed innocents or did something to that extent?" Naomi sharply turned her head to Elena, holding back the tears that stung her eyes. "Could you forgive them?"

Elena was taken so aback by the question that her mouth hung open and she was stunned into momentary silence.

Naomi wasn't trying to sully or bring any ill-will to the memory of not only Avalor's previous King and Queen, but more importantly, Elena's parents. However, Naomi also felt like she needed to grab a hold of any kind of life line right now.

And even as Elena tried to subtly wipe a single tear that was sliding down her cheek, she cast her eyes upward, giving the question some serious thought. 

In the end, she just shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. All I can remember them as the loving, forgiving parents and amazing rulers they were." Elena bit her lip. "If I were to choose, I would choose to forgive them since I know how unpredictable life can be and you could lose them at any time. Most of the time, when you least expect it."

"And the fact still remains that in the end, they were wrongfully murdered by an evil witch. And I've had to make peace with the fact that I may never know how she got past our guards and Alacazar. It was that acceptance, I remind you, that gave me the hidden power to truly protect my Kingdom against the forces of pure evil."

Elena reached up and delicately traced the swirl design of her crown. It had been modeled after the crown that her mother had worn since the original had been obliterated into nothing by Shuriki's deadly spell, just like everything, everyone, it had touched. "And I have a kingdom and a child to consider now anyways, and they are my present and future."

Naomi let a real smile tug at her lips as she wriggled out her arm that was crushed against Elena's side to move it to put around her shoulders. Elena was always so strong, filled with so much fire, whether Naomi always agreed with it or not, that kept her moving forward.

"I appreciate the support, I always do, Elena. But you have to let me do this my own way." Naomi pressed the side of her temple against Elena's. "What's more important now is Chloe, you said she's our top priority, and that should be it."

Elena nodded her head, one of her styled curl's tickling Naomi's cheek. "If that's what you've decided."

"It is."

"Alright! Then come on," Elena said, jumping to her feet. "I've got something to show you."

"What?"

"You'll see," She said with a sly grin on her face.

She kept that sly grin on her face all the way to the Palace's library, and more specifically, the Royal Wizard's Workshop.

They entered through the open grand painting door to find Mateo sitting on a stool at his stone work table. He was hunched over in a way that couldn't be great for his back, and he also seemed to be wearing a pair of goggles.

"Mateo!" Elena exclaimed.

He jumped slightly and turned his attention to them. The goggles he was wearing had a magnifying glass fixed over one eye, so his left hazel eye looked extremely enlarged and a little grotesque.

"Well this is a surprise," He said cheerfully as he lifted the goggles up and rested them on top of his head. "How is the Queen and her advisor?"

Naomi refrained from snorting. It was kind of Elena to call her an advisor rather than a lady-in-waiting, it had a bit more credibility to it, but she hadn't been able to really help "advise" Elena on anything when Naomi hadn't left the palace.

Instead, the only real help she had been able to offer was sorting through an alarmingly high amount of copies of receipts and orders from Nueva Vista. True, Elena had given Duke Cisco a generous amount of gold, thanks to her cashing in her favor with the noblins for it, so that he could start to rebuild Nueva Vista after Cristobel had spent almost every penny of it in his effort to bring Shuriki back to power.

Still, even if the unofficial motto of that place was _'spare no expense,'_ there had to be no conceivable reason for an order of 100 pink silk ribbons.

Mateo's smile then dropped a little. "Wait, I didn't forget anything did I?"

He began furiously looking around the table on empty beakers and the covers of closed books. "I know I would have left a note to remind myself if there was some visiting Royal or some function we needed to go to."

"Don't worry, _mi alma_ , this is an impromptu visit to show Naomi what you and Isa have been working on," Elena said as she patted his shoulder. Her hand then reached up to grab his chin and move his face to reveal a long scratch that was along his cheek. "Although, I did remind you that I wanted you to be careful since you are playing with this dangerous stuff."

"Says the girl who used to leap off balconies and onto flying Jaquins," Naomi cut in with, but the statement was promptly ignored.

"I am being careful," Mateo mumbled back as best he could as his cheeks were a little squished from her hold. He pointed to his head. "I'm even wearing the hairband Isabel gave me so I can see."

Elena though crossed her arms over her chest.

Mateo picked up her body language as well, and immediately turned to fully face her. "I'm sorry," He said, reaching out and putting his hands on her waist. "I know you worry and I'm not trying to put myself in any danger."

Elena seemed to accept this apology. In fact, Naomi knew for certain that she did, as Elena's red dress changed into a bright sky blue. Naomi didn't see this color often since Elena was first able to use it to defeat the last shade of darkness, as she had just been reminded by her. However, this "acceptance" emotion could only be achieved, as Quita Moz explained, when Elena was in a state of total peace and openness. As usual though, Mateo could easily coax any emotion out of her as Elena brought her hand up and used this dress color's power to instantly heal the scratch on Mateo's cheek, and leave behind unblemished dark tan skin.

"I'm glad you two are getting along really well, especially with this project," Elena said as she moved to wipe a smudge of dirt off Mateo's forehead with her sleeve. "But I also can't tell which of you is the worst influence on the other."

"Are you really going to sell your own sister out like that?" Isabel said, coming into the workshop right on cue with a crate full of odd looking tools with many gears and knobs, and placed it on the other side of the table they were gathered around.

Isabel had certainly grown up the most from the little 11 year old that had followed around their _Los Cuatro_ group. Now at 17, she was the same height as Naomi, but still petite. And although she had lost her rounded baby face, there was still something soft and sweet about it, much like the woodland nymphs Naomi often saw in paintings from the Northern Kingdoms.

"I'm not 'selling' you out if I'm just stating the facts," Elena said as she motioned to the chemical burn scar that was peeking out from underneath the rolled up sleeve of Isabel's lab coat.

Isabel just waved off her older sister. "We're taking all the precautions with safety gloves, aprons, and protective eye gear," She said, pointing to the matching set of goggles that she wore on her head. "Which is more than I can say for you, especially when you used to barge in very loudly when we were in the middle of working on some of the more delicate and volatile items."

Elena actually pouted at that accusation. "I've gotten better at that."

Isabel's Flores brown eyes said she didn't look convinced though as she then turned to Mateo. "Did she yell when she arrived here?"

"Hey, put your goggles on and take a look at this--this fragment on our newest exhibit!" Mateo said as he quickly got off the stool and offered it to his sister-in-law, who took it. Though it was obvious to her and everyone else that he had mainly done it to dodge the question.

"What exactly is all this anyways?" Naomi asked, gesturing around the room.

Mateo's workshop was probably the room Naomi had visited the least in all of the palace over the years. Not that it wasn't impressive, as it looked exactly like the stone chambers that she had seen inside the Maruvian temples. Which wasn’t much of a surprise, given that Royal Wizards had been around since Ancient Maru, and was a position that had survived even after the Maruvians had abruptly disappeared and old Avalor had emerged from it.

However, while there had always been shelves of different colored potions and old spellbooks, there seemed to be an over abundance of them now. Along with scattered papers and a blackboard with equations that Naomi had no idea what they meant. But what really caught Naomi's attention was the numerous miscellaneous items laid out on a back table. They all looked like they had been dipped in liquid Platinum and had little cards in front of them that said _Exhibit A, Exhibit B,_ and so on and so forth.

Isabel must have noticed Naomi take particular interest in the collection as she said, "Those are items we've been dipping into the Crystal Well in Takaina."

"We're experimenting to see if depending on what items that you put down, what powers they will get based on different variables. And in turn, if we can then control what the powers the item will get," Mateo added.

Naomi retreated a hand back just as she was about to touch what looked like had once been a frying pan, not wanting to get any unexpected magic backlash that could spring out, as she knew could happen from personal experience.

"Interested in magic now, Isabel?" Naomi asked now fully intrigued.

"More like she's enlightening me to the 'magic' of science," Mateo interjected, writing something down on a clipboard that Isabel mumbled to him.

"I am the one with the bachelor's degree in physics," Isabel said, lifting her goggles back up on her head. "Besides, everyone should be at least knowledgeable in the basics like control variables and stimulus."

"Are you sure this is what we should be working on right now ?" Naomi asked, not that she wasn't impressed with the interesting mashup of science and magic.

Mateo's face went a little crestfallen. "Well, none of the location spells I found worked, no matter what I tried," He said in a defeated tone, leaning against the table as his leg began to bounce. "It's like something is clouding Chloe. Which, there are cloaking spells, but that would mean she would have to have a wizard with her. But of course, I don't know who that could be since Norberg is a Kingdom that doesn't have a Royal Wizard. There are wizards for hire, but that doesn't narrow it down as we still don't know if this disappearance of hers was entirely consensual."

Before Naomi could get ready to sit back and get prepared for more of his long winded rambling, Elena came over and put a hand on the back of his head and buried her fingers in his curly hair, quieting and calming him down instantly.

"What he's trying to say," Elena translated. "Is that we're hoping that maybe something more powerful can be created by the Crystal Well to help and find Chloe."

"And you guys really think this will work?" Naomi asked, taking in the pile of items with a new sense of interest.

"Hoping so!" Isabel said, pushing back a lock of her short, thick wavy brown hair. "I want to help as much as I can before I have to leave for Satu. But Takaina is like a whole other world, almost separate from Maru."

"Full of hidden chambers?" Naomi finished.

"Yes!" Mateo said brightly. "So you've read Dr. Mendoza's notes?"

"Haven't finished, just got through her chapter on the pottery shards she found and her hypothesis on how they may have been used for some kind of ritual to bless the crops for a good harvest."

Mateo looked slightly confused at that. "She has?"

Naomi lifted up an eyebrow. "Have you read her notes?"

Mateo tugged at his Wizard robes collar. "I...may have skipped ahead to the chapters dealing with magic."

"Isa?" Elena then asked.

"I may have also only read the section on irrigation and aqueducts," Isabel admitted. "It's a great read though! You should check it out."

"Noted," Naomi said. She then glanced around the room again. "I'm surprised you haven't tried a tamborita."

"We did," Mateo said, crossing his arms and looking like he had had his favorite toy taken away by his mother. "It turned out to be similar to the Crystal Tamborita Quita Moz has. It is more powerful, and the location spell was able to reach farther out, but the cloaking spell still blocked us from exactly seeing where she might be."

Mateo pointed to Elena, “And as much as I would love to try and put Elena’s scepter in next time, since I know the jewel on it is from the Crystal Well, and therefore could be an incredibly powerful tool, I also don’t know what it’s side effects could be. It could sap her strength and energy even faster.”

"So, until then, we're trying a new approach!" Isabel said, the failure not keeping her down. Though, given her profession, that was to be expected. "We pulled from the library and found stories from other Kingdoms of items, like Mirrors, that could see anywhere in the world or answer any question you ask them."

"Which reminds me," Isabel dug through the crate she had brought in and pulled out a book. "I just got a book on Agrabah and the history of magic lamps. I think we should start moving to dipping containers next."

Elena pointed to the book. "Where in the EverRealm did you get that? I know we certainly didn’t have that recently or I would have read that one in preparation for last year's Royal Retreat."

"From Esteban's private collection," Isabel said. "He said I could even take a few more books with me to Satu."

"How did you convince--?" Elena narrowed her eyes. "You used the look on him, didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Isabel said in a tone saturated in sweetness, with her brown eyes seemingly getting rounder and bigger. "He just gave it to me."

"And yet when I ask him to do the simplest thing, it's like trying to pull teeth out!" Elena exclaimed, and Naomi smiled at how true that was.

"But you two have always been like that," Isabel said matter-of-factly.

"I know, I know," Elena said as she stuck up her chin slightly. "I think he's just bitter because I could always beat him in every challenge we did together since we were kids."

"Which I can get confirmation on when I see him at lunch, which should be right about now.” Elena stomach then let out a loud gurgling sound to prove her statement. “Mateo, you coming?"

Mateo shook his head. "Not now. I have a few more things I want to check out. I think the mirror we dipped during nighttime rather than during the day might be stronger, but I want to make sure first. I'll grab a torta from Armando later, promise."

Elena seemed okay with this answer as she kissed his forehead and then turned to her sister.

"I'll get a torta later too," Isabel replied, flipping through the books pages rapidly. "After this, I need to finish packing up another crate of books."

"And who do you think is going to carry all 12 of those crates to the ship for you then?" Elena asked.

"Gabe said he would carry as many as I needed," Isabel said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Then Gabe's being too soft for you, as usual," Elena said, turning to Naomi for wordless confirmation, which she gave as she was reminded of all those hikes he had been dragged on by Isabel. Apparently that looked worked on more than just Esteban.

"Well, she's going to have to be the one to carry them to her dormitory in Satu," Naomi noted as she and Elena exited the workshop with great alarm suddenly growing on Isabel's face, as if she was realizing this fact for the first time.

The two of them were still laughing about that look as they left the library, and Naomi ran right into Esteban in the doorway.

She was just about to say something along the lines of, ‘woah, couldn't see us down here with your nose stuck up so high, Chancellor?’ But as soon as they made eye contact with each other, they stiffened.

Quickly seeing that Luisa and Francisco were behind him though, as well as Elena still standing next to her, Naomi at least had to say something.

She settled on, "Esteban."

"Naomi," He replied back just as stunted, followed by an uncomfortable pause.

"Esteban has something to give you," Luisa quickly cut in.

Naomi raised her eyebrows in surprise. "He does?"

"Yes. Yes, I do." Esteban said hurriedly, but didn't immediately continue as his eyes went over to his cousin.

Elena picked up on this glance, and sighed. "I guess will meet you guys in the dining room then," She said before leaving the group.

"It's called common courtesy Elena," Esteban called after her.

"Or being superfluous, Esteban," Elena called back return, not even looking at him.

Naomi expected for the abuelos to follow, but they stayed right where they were, looking mighty pleased with themselves.

“I just wanted to give you this,” Esteban said abruptly and pulled out a hand from behind his back to present something to her. It was a ring.

And from just the look of it as Naomi gingerly took it, it was not a cheap ring. It was a gold band that had a small sliver of silver wound and knotted together with it that joined together in the middle of the ring, where a perfectly round white pearl sat on top of it.

“Wow. You didn’t have to give me something so...so...” Naomi couldn't even think of a word, and was only able to stare at the small, but valuable piece of jewelry that sat in the middle of her palm. "We already have the marriage certificate."

“Well, you still deserve to have one," Esteban said softly, and Naomi looked back up to meet his eyes. "And it will make it more believable should people actually find out.”

“Right, believable,” Naomi repeated, moving to look back at the ring. "You should have said something though as I could have gotten one for you as well if we were going through the trouble.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I already have one.” Esteban said as he brought out his left hand. And sure enough, on his fourth finger was a ring made of silver with a strip of gold through the middle of it which was engraved with the same knotted design that Naomi's ring had.

"It's your rings matching pair," Luisa then said, startling Naomi as she had almost forgotten they were there. "Esteban spent all day all day in the Royal Treasury picking it out."

"Abuela, please," Esteban said sheepishly.

"This is a family heirloom!?" Naomi said, sticking her hand out farther from her. "Then I really shouldn't have this."

"Nonsense! You've always deserved to have something from the treasury," Francisco interjected boisterously. “And regardless of the circumstances of this marriage, you're his wife, and you deserve to be treated as such by the example Luisa and I have led for him.”

"Well, maybe not all of the examples, _mi amor_ ," Luisa added. "Such as that chivalry is nice, but not always needed."

"Oh, but he should already know that," Francisco said, patting Esteban on the back. "Remember when he had that crush on that kitchen girl when he was a little boy."

"And so he tried to carry all those bags of flour, which of course he couldn't," Luisa tittered. "And so he tripped over his feet and caused a bag to break and cover that poor girl in flour from head to toe."

Esteban then actually groaned as he hunched over a little and put his head in his hand, hiding most of his face, but Naomi could still see the bright blush that was on his face. It made him look less like the dignified, older Chancellor that he was, and more like when a teenager is having their embarrassing naked baby portraits shown.

And before Naomi could stop herself, she started laughing at that idea, and being reminded that Esteban was still as much of the flamboyant, and even slightly awkward man that he had always been. She tried to stifle the laugh even more by pressing her hand to her mouth, but her obvious shaking shoulders quickly gave it away.

Esteban looked even less amused at her laughter, but she didn't pay much attention to him as she finally picked up the ring in her palm and slid it onto her left hand ring finger. It fit perfectly.

She held it up to the light to get a better look. She hadn't ever worn a ring in her entire life, so this was quite beautiful to receive as her first one. And it was kind of him to spend so much time picking it out, even if she realized now that this is why Luisa had dragged Esteban off so quickly this morning.

"Hey," Naomi began, licking her lips a little. "Just so you know, I don't hate you." This caused Esteban to raise an eyebrow at her. "Well, I guess hate is a strong word. You're annoying for sure, but dislike wouldn't be right either--"

"The feeling is mutual," Esteban interrupted her with, but there was a small smile on his face. "I can assure you."

Naomi smiled again and gave him a nod in understanding.

"Well, now that that's settled," Francisco said, taking his wife's arm. "I believe I can smell the tamales from here, and we shouldn't have Elena eat by herself."

The couple both gave one more glance at Naomi’s ring, this extremely soft expression on their faces, before leading the way down the hallway.

While Esteban didn't put out an arm for her to take, which Naomi was grateful as she wasn't sure she would have wanted that anyways, he did raise an arm in the direction of the dining room and politely ask, "May I escort you?"

"You can, sir," Naomi said, raising a hand to her forehead to salute him. Which he did roll his eyes at, but all with the air of good natured humor behind it as they fell in step with one another.

“So,” Naomi then whispered and she nodded up to Luisa and Francisco. “I’m guessing these first few days of marriage have been just as much fun for you as they have been for me.”

“Fun wouldn’t be my first choice word,” Esteban replied back flatly. “Since my abuelos are traditional, and have been nagging me constantly that since I’m the mature one, I should strive to take care of you at all costs.”

“Rather than mature, I think the word they were looking for is old. In which case I should be the one taking care of you,” Naomi said, relishing in how natural it felt to have that quip roll off her tongue.

Especially when she could see Esteban look down at her out of the corner of her eye with that expectantly annoyed look on his face.

He straightened back up. “Then I will take having seniority in this relationship, if that means you’ll finally start listening and doing what I say.”

“Hmmm, don’t count on it. You have more of a chance of becoming King of the World than that happening,” She replied with, this time looking to meet his eyes after she said that comment.

Instead of continuing the back and forth though, they settled for smirking at one another, content with having a resemblance of their banter back after these last two weeks of painful awkwardness and dancing around.

It was nice to know, Naomi thought, that at it's core, nothing about their relationship had really changed.

So, with that foundation relaid, they were able to move on to making small comments about blasé subjects like the great weather conditions on the harbor and the delivery of the seasonal spices that would come with it.

Perhaps if things stayed just like this for the next 351 days, then it just might be bearable.


	9. Scandalously Ever After

“Ah, Mateo! I’ve told you this before, no books during dinner!” Luisa exclaimed, startling the Royal Wizard and causing him to drop his fork and have it loudly clatter against his plate.

"Right, sorry _abuela_ ," Mateo said sheepishly and hastily closed the book. He then moved it to the ground when his grandmother-in-law raised one eyebrow up at him.

Luisa sighed. “I swear you’re just as bad as those two.”

Naomi followed Luisa's gesture across the dining room table to Elena and Isabel, who were trying to look a little too innocent as they each stabbed into a piece of mango. Naomi laughed a little into her goblet of water as she used it to wash down her bite of enchiladas, and wondering if she could eat anymore.

The kitchen staff always had such a feast set up for breakfast and dinner, with mouthwatering smells filling up the dining room and even carrying down the hallway, drawing them invitingly into the brightly colored room. The splendor of it was intentional though, as the Royal family was adamant about eating together too, sharing lively conversations about their day and getting lost in reminiscing about old memories. 

All of this that was so new to Naomi, that she sometimes didn't notice how much she was consuming anymore as she got lost in the ambiance of it all. However, she was starting to feel it sit more in her gut and she wouldn't be surprised if she was starting to gain more weight than she could burn off during her daily lasso training.

Perhaps she could burn off some extra calories by helping at the Harbor...or even see if Dr. Mendoza needed some excavation assistance, or she could even check on the pepper crops in the north. 

With it having been quiet the last few days, in both the staff gossiping and any news or progress in finding Chloe, it seemed like the universe was providing Naomi with the perfect opportunity to leave the Palace (as she was going a little stir-crazy) and start figuring out what she was going to do when the year with Esteban was finally up. Which she was no closer to figuring out than she had been a few weeks ago.

But, she could at least start with trying to keep in shape for whatever she decided.

A plate of some kind of freshly made fried dough pastries covered in cinnamon and sugar was then placed in front of Naomi.

Senora Torres looked down at her with the most pitying eyes Naomi had ever seen. "Here you are Naomi, some _Sopaipillas_ for you, you sweet, innocent dear."

"Oh, uh, thanks?" Naomi replied automatically, though she was thoroughly confused. 

To further confuse her, Senora Torres nodded gratefully at the comment before turning her eyes, which became quite rueful, to Esteban who was sitting beside Naomi and picked up his plate to take it away, even though he clearly had a few bites still left.

"Wha--Senora Torres!" Esteban called out, but she didn't stop or pay him any mind.

"Strange," Francisco commented as Senora Torres exited the door that led down to the kitchen. "She usually only has _Sopaipillas_ made when she knows someone is going through a hard time."

"Is there something wrong with me?" Naomi asked, glancing down at the reflective surface of her spoon. She had thought she had been putting on a good enough face in front of people that weren’t the Royal family.

"I mean, not outside of the usual," Esteban unnecessarily responded with, as he grabbed one of the pastries, and therefore earned him a sharp glare from Naomi to make up for the fact that she couldn't reach kicking him in the shins.

She also decided to make a great show of picking up the plate and setting it on the other side of her, well out of Esteban's reach, which he watched with narrowed eyes through the whole performance.

Whatever smart comment he had no doubt cooked up to say to her, was cut off by the sound of arguing voices echoing outside in the hallway, before they barreled into the dining room.

It turned out to be Armando and Private Higgins, who didn't stop their incoherent bickering until Elena said, "What's going on?"

Higgins saluted very stiffly. "A letter with an unidentified sender has arrived to the Palace, and I believe it would be in our best interest to deliver it to Captain Nunez."

Armando rolled his eyes. "And as Chief-of-the-Castle, which I have been for many years, I noticed that it has the Royal Seal from Nueva Vista." 

"Thank you Armando, I'll take the letter then," Elena said holding out a hand. She then leaned forward. "But thank you Private Higgins for your concern."

After both men looked pleased at getting equal praise from their generous Queen, they bowed and left the room together in a much more friendly manner.

"It seems like Gabe is keeping everyone on high alert," Mateo noted and shot Elena a knowing look that she returned. Although Naomi couldn't tell which time he was referring too, she could bet that he was talking about when Gabe had soldiers circle Elena for literally every step she took during the first couple of weeks of Shuriki's resurgence. It was good that Gabe had gotten a little more relaxed since that time, but it seemed that not everyone agreed with that.

"I don't think you should make light of this. You need to take every precaution," Esteban said. "In fact, I've already seen requisitions to get some new cutlery for the dining room."

"Funny, I believe I've told you before that requisitions is something I should be doing as Queen Esteban," Elena said flatly as she broke the wax seal. "And the ones we're using now are brand new that we got as a gift from Maarswik. So, I would be curious to know why you think we need new ones already?"

"Probably because they're not gold plated or encrusted in emeralds," Naomi remarked.

"Oh, leave the letter until after dinner, _mijita_ ," Luisa then chided.

"I can't if it's from Nueva Vista," Elena said unrolling the scroll.

Luisa still didn't look pleased at this. But thankfully, Francisco stepped in. 

"Oh come, _mi amor,_ you remember how Lucia was during her first year as Queen." Francisco turned to look at all of his grandchildren. "It was the first time we had actually seen her awake first thing in the morning, and she lived on mostly a diet of beans and rice so she wouldn't have to stop for even a second."

Naomi didn't think that was an unusual diet at first. Beans and rice held plenty of nutritional value needed to keep someone full and fueled if they had to keep on working for hours on end. Then again, as she reached for one of the sweet smelling _Sopaipillas_ , she could see how it was hard to imagine going on a scarce diet if someone ate this extravagant all the time.

Naomi was about to take a bite when her attention was pulled to Elena as she let out a large gasp.

"What's wrong?" Isabel asked first.

"There is a rumor of a possible rebellion breaking out in Nueva Vista," Elena said breathlessly, straightening up to attention.

"A rebellion? Against who?" Naomi asked.

Elena swallowed hard. "Against the Crown."

Everyone let out a different kind of outcry of disbelief.

"We've never had problems with that Castle and city before," Francisco said. "What's changed?"

"It says that the social and economic inequality of the city has been completely thrown into disarray. People are losing their jobs, taxes are being raised, and there's talk of a poor harvest." Elena's eyes darted quickly all over the scroll. "Even the price of a loaf of bread is almost worth a day's wage now." 

"But we sent Duke Cisco the golden items that the Noblins had created. And they were genuine gold," Mateo interjected with. "We agreed that it was enough to give Nueva Vista a boost."

"It was more than that. It was enough to buy a small kingdom!" Esteban cried out. 

"And he hasn't told you before that this was the current situation of the city?" Naomi asked.

"No, he hasn't," Elena said through gritted teeth. "In fact, the only thing Cisco sent me recently was a symphony he was working on. I assumed that meant that things were going fine, maybe even great since I wasn't expecting a bi-yearly report for a few months."

"Why would he not tell us that things were getting this bad?" Luisa asked.

"I don't know. The letter isn't signed, but I assumed it wasn't written by him. Since he knows anyway I would've been more than happy to help him out," Elena said, not hiding the hurt that was in her voice. “The letter also says that in order to quell some of the small skirmishes that are popping up, Duke Cisco has decided that the next course of action is to increase the number of soldiers by any means, and adding stricter laws like curfews.”

Just by the sheer horror of how bad of an idea that was, immediately put everyone off their food. They all shifted their plates away from themselves, and settled into the mindset like they were having a pseudo-Grand Council meeting. Even Isabel, who tended not to get involved with politics at all, put on a more stoic and concentrated expression.

"I put Duke Cisco in charge, because while he is extended family, he grew up in Nueva Vista and was next in line behind Cristobel for Dukedom. But it seems that he is not fit for this job at all." Elena slammed the letter on the table face down, as if she couldn't bear to look at it anymore. "And after him, there's not a lot of direct Castillo family left."

She didn't finish with an explanation as to why. But with the common knowledge that Shuriki had killed off all Wizards that came to Avalor, rebellion leaders, and Elena's parents, an assumption could easily be made as to what had happened to some of her extended family.

"Then maybe it's time we put someone else in line," Naomi suggested.

Esteban loudly sighed. "You can't just shift the hierarchy of power that easy or willy-nilly, Naomi. Not just anyone can sit on a throne."

"It's not that I'm opposed to putting someone of a smaller noble title or even a non-royal in place, Esteban," Elena cut in, before looking more directly at Naomi. "But I do understand that with a city of Nueva Vista's scale, you've got to have years of experience of understanding the fundamentals of ruling and leading. You saw how many years it took me just to become Queen."

Francisco nodded. "She is right. Our daughter, Margarita, didn't offically become Lady of the Flores House, _La Rosa Naranja_ , until right before Esteban was born as she hadn't been ready until then."

Naomi was momentarily surprised. But only because she hadn't even known that the Flores had another home since all known Flores seemed to live here at the Palace. And Naomi wasn't sure she had heard the name of the other daughter, Esteban's mother and Elena's aunt, until this moment.

"Well, if it's jobs and improving the economy that Nueva Vista needs help with, then why not build another hydro-gondola system there," Isabel piped in with. "Caterina and I, with the help of Esteban, took in the account of maintenance, material costs, and operators, and everything has been thriving ever since." 

"While that is an excellent suggestion Isabel," Esteban said with a great deal of pride in his voice. "Nueva Vista isn't structurally built similar to Avalor, especially with all the river canals."

"But she is on the right track that we'll need to think of something along those lines before things get worse," Elena said, her jaw visibly clenched. "And while I still don't know who sent the letter, it still came from the Nueva Vista Palace, so I have to trust it enough to take action as I didn't take back my Kingdom to have my people suffer in any way. Especially not Papi's ancestral home." Elena sighed, "So we'll need someone to go there..."

"Elena, no," Luisa said firmly.

"I haven't even said anything yet!" Elena protested.

"But I can see it in your eyes," Luisa pointed to the corner of her own green eyes. "And besides just for the baby's sake, I may not know anything about running a kingdom, but I do know about running a business. And I know that it can take weeks, maybe even months, to get a business that's starting from nothing off the ground and become widely successful."

"She's right," Mateo agreed, and brought a hand closer to Elena's so that their fingertips touched. "We have too many responsibilities here that we can't suddenly put off for months: Queen Rebecca is visiting soon, the Wizard guild needs to be finished being built if I want to start bringing students in during the warm season, an Olaball tournament to organize, and we need to be ready in case anything with Chloe comes up."

"Yes, yes. You're all right," Elena said in a small defeated tone, before shaking off the childish act and putting on a more Queenly expression. "But the fact remains that we still need a solution to all this."

"This is true," Esteban said, stroking his beard. "In the case of Avalor, it had quite a bit of luck with it's economy as the grand market place and extensive trading business had been able to be passed from Shuriki's power to yours."

Elena bristled slightly at that. "Luck?"

"Yes, luck," Esteban bristled back with. "You may have had a hand in a few deals Elena, but I was there through the entire process of the trade business growing. Working the long hours and doing the hard work that at least kept Avalor going and alive, and not fall into the desolate wasteland that the Northern Isles still are to this very day."

"He does have a point, Elena," Naomi said, stepping in before either of them said anything that they could regret. It wasn't the first time it got slightly tense with those two when Shuriki was brought up, especially if it was referring to her having done anything that had helped Avalor. Esteban always had a way of seeing it from a purely business side, while Elena saw it more as a betrayal.

"I've been in ports all over the EverRealm, and a good trade could make all the difference," Naomi continued. "I saw as a child the complete transformation of atmosphere and liveliness in only a few months on the small Island of Clearwater in the Caribbean after they made peace with the neighboring Island, and opened up to more travel and trade between the two."

Naomi couldn't tell who was more surprised in that moment: Esteban as she was actually agreeing with him or Elena for seeing that Naomi was agreeing with Esteban.

"There, if you won't listen to me, then maybe you'll listen to Naomi," Esteban said smugly, and Naomi had half a mind to regret what she had just done. "You need someone with conviction, who can take decisive action, with experience handling a good sized amount of people, and a good family name would help."

"You're...absolutely right Esteban."

Now it was Naomi's turn to be surprised once again. However, there was an almost wicked gleam in Elena's eyes that tipped Naomi off that her friend was coming up with some kind of scheme.

Esteban though, didn't seem to share the surprise, and looked rather pleased with himself as he went to take a drink. "I'm glad you see it that way."

“So, I need someone like you.” Elena then leaned forward, placing her chin in her hand.

"Yes."

Elena shrugged her shoulders. "Or better yet, we just need you."

"Yes, this is tr--" Esteban practically spat out his drink, and turned back to Elena sharply. "What! Me?"

"Didn't that list of yours pretty much describe all your qualifications," Elena said, lifting up an eyebrow.

"Well, yes, but..."

" _Mijita_ , please," Francisco said in his most soothing tone. "You can't just throw that much weight onto Esteban's shoulders. Most people can't handle the stress--"

"I didn't say that I couldn't do it," Esteban interrupted abruptly with, clearly embarrassed by his grandfather's interference. "In fact, I would be greatly honored to step in and, once again, offer my vast knowledge to pull the kingdom up." He folded his hands in front of him, his thumbs twiddling a little. "Of course, I am also only a Chancellor."

Elena smiled. "Then, maybe it's time you were officially granted another Royal Title."

"People can have more than one Royal Title? Seriously?" Naomi asked aloud, but went unanswered.

Esteban took a deep breath before bowing towards Elena. "I would always be happy to take up the title of Lord, as it is my birth right from my mother's side." He gave a small smile to his grandparents.

"I know you would. But, it's not what I had in mind," Elena said, pointing a finger at him. "If I'm going to put you in charge in Nueva Vista, then you need the title to go along with it." Elena looked around the room. "Well, I don't have my scepter or a sword. Soooo, this will have to do!"

Elena picked up one of the unused butter knives off the table before standing up from her chair, and gestured for Esteban to come before her.

Esteban was actually slightly hesitant at first, but in the end, stood up from his chair as well, and moved to kneel in front of her.

Elena raised the knife high. "My dear cousin, you have already served the Kingdom of Avalor for so many years, that I am confident that you will continue to bring honor and pride to the Kingdom in this new position I now grant you." She brought the knife down to lightly touch each of his shoulders. "So, by the power vested in me, Elena Rosemaria Desdemona Castillo De Alva, Queen of Avalor, that I hereby claim you, Esteban Francisco Ricardo Flores, from this day forth to be named Duke of Nueva Vista!"

"I am honored to serve the Kingdom," Esteban said in a stilted tone before rising to his feet.

The table let out a round of claps and whoops of encouragement, which didn't sound very loud all mixed together, but was held with all genuine sincerity and excitement, and maybe a possible undertone of worry.

Esteban seemed to have felt this worry as he looked a little too stiff for comfort. But it was broken as he jumped when Elena touched his arm.

"You're going to do fine, Primo," she said softly. "I know you'll be able to help us."

Esteban looked down to her hand. He reached over and patted her hand before clearing his throat and rolling back his shoulders. 

"This is true."

After what had been the highlight of dinner, the plates had been all cleared. And after some final good nights, everyone headed in their respectable directions.

Esteban and Naomi ended up going down the same hallway together, as Naomi's apartments and supposedly Esteban's office were in the same direction, though Naomi had never been to his office herself.

"You don't have to come with me," Esteban then said.

Naomi turned to look up at him. "What?"

"You don't have to come with me to Nueva Vista," Esteban responded back with, not breaking stride. "You are more than welcome to stay in Avalor if you found something to occupy your time with."

Naomi's eyebrows furrowed together. "I wasn't really planning on it, unless Elena needs me to go."

Esteban looked down at her. "You don't realize what this means, do you?" 

The more intense crease that formed in her forehead turned out to be answer enough. 

"If I am now the Duke of Nueva Vista, then that means being my wife, you are now the Duchess of Nueva Vista."

Naomi felt herself instantly stumble a little. Her? A Duchess?

The very idea almost pushed her into a fit of giggles until she realized he was absolutely right. Mateo was Prince Consort to Elena's Queen and Luisa was a Senora to Francisco's Senor. So, it only made sense that as long as she was married to Esteban, she was a Duchess.

Had Elena realized that at all!?

"Won't that seem suspicious?" Naomi decided to ask so that she wouldn't have to dwell anymore of the idea of her being...a Duchess. Even just the word sounded a little too pompous and foofy to her.

"I'm sure Oswall will find out about it if we were separated. So, could he use that against us?"

"Not at all," Esteban answered immediately. "While some Royal couples try to travel together, they are most often separated, and in most cases it's because the monarch decided that. Elena said that I need to go to Nueva Vista, so we could just say that she ordered you to stay by her side for...moral support or advising or to help with the baby."

'In the end, that means more lies,' Naomi thought to herself as she crossed her arms.

But, perhaps this would be for the better than. The two of them were at least on terms to be civil with one another again, which is why Naomi had taken it upon herself to think rather than say that last thought. Plus, perhaps distance would actually make the heart grow fonder, and she just might even miss Esteban for just a fraction of the time if he were to be gone.

"Chancellor!" 

The stout figure of Private Higgins was quickly running down the hallway in a very un-soldier like manner to catch up to them.

"Congratulations Sir!" He said very loudly and gleefully.

"Thank you Higgins, it is quite the honor." Esteban looked down at his nails in a painfully obvious attempt to cool and collected. "I see my reputation of being the new Duke to Nueva Vista is already preceding me."

Naomi rolled her eyes hard.

Maybe, Esteban should take Higgins in her place. It was no secret that Higgins was Esteban's right hand man, and a good one in terms of doing anything that Esteban told him to do with an unnervingly happy expression. Qualities that Esteban seemed to express were what he would want in a spouse as well. 

At least Higgins was still first and foremost loyal to his Captain and Queen when it counted.

"What? You are?" Higgins asked, still at full volume. "Well that's amazing too! Kind of a long time to have waited for a Promotion though, huh sir?"

Naomi started snickering at that, and didn't even try to hide it behind a hand this time. At least he had that unknowingly blunt honesty that kept Esteban from getting too big of a head.

Higgins bounced a little on his toes. "But I was talking about you and Naomi getting married."

Naomi instantly stopped laughing, as did both her and Esteban's breathing as well.

Naomi unconsciously put her hand behind her back, until she realized that she didn't have to. She wasn't wearing her ring. She just hadn't gotten the habit of putting it on every morning, but it did safely reside in the jewelry box that was already on her dressing table. 

So how did he know!?

Esteban took a step forward. "What are you talking about Higgins?"

Higgins dug into his pocket and pulled out a very crumpled looking pamphlet and presented it to the couple.

In large, bold letters read the title:

**_Scandalously Ever After by Mercedes Torres_ **

The cover of the pamphlet had a picture of a man and a woman kneeling in front of one another and locked into a tight embrace as they stared intensely into each other's eyes. 

The pouty, short-haired blonde woman was wearing a very low cut dress, that seemed even lower in part to the large bust she had. The dress also had a large slit up the side that practically went to her hip and the skirts were being clutched tightly by her lover. The man himself, while seeming to be more dressed, was also practically shirtless as his white blouse was open and hung off his arms, displaying a very broad and muscular back. He had a smirk on his lips that sat between his thin mustache and curled beard.

Naomi and Esteban suddenly leaned in closer together, both no doubt having the startling realization of what they were looking at.

It was them.

Naomi snatched the pamphlet out of Higgins's hands and quickly opened it to the first page, reading the neatly and familiar typed sentences that came from Mercedes's printing press.

_Unknown to the fair Kingdom of Avalor, there had been a secret romance blooming like a fine Rose in the garden of love._

_It seems what the brave and feisty explorer Naomi Turner was looking for out on the vast, cobalt blue sea...was her soulmate. How many days had she spent, standing on the bow of her illustrious ship, with her light blue sapphire eyes and bodice heaving with the motion of the ocean, searching for the answer that was right in front of her the whole time?_

_Esteban Flores, Chancellor to the enchanting Queen, didn't seem like he was looking for love. He may have even sworn it off...for life. A very attractive and rakish man of his youth, he had turned into a domineering and shrewd old man. Despite this though, there must have been something that sparked in his caramel-honey eyes to have fallen for the homely port girl. And it would seem that Queen Elena isn't the only one with magic in the Royal Family, as Chancellor Esteban seemed to have casted a spell that completely ensnared the innocent and naïve Miss Turner._

_The couple put on a grand show for years, choosing to outwardly trade barbed and witty words with one another in the presence of others in order to disguise the crackling lightning storm of their passion that was looming underneath._

_Perhaps it was then, when they were reunited after Miss Turner's latest little dalliance in the East, that they couldn't bear to be parted from each other any more as they eloped most hastily while on a top secret Mission to Norberg._

_Was that all because they knew that Queen Elena would disapprove and they therefore needed to be wed in secret?_

_What is known, thanks to some local seadogs, is that the two were spotted together at the Harbor and returning to the Palace in their usual standoffish manner after their return from Norberg. However, there must have been something under the façade. His eyes raking over her as she let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding--_

"Oh my Gods..." Naomi muttered fumingly, deciding that she couldn't bear to read any more past that. However, she also couldn't help but flip through, baffled by how Mercedes could have written what looked like a full novella in such a short amount of time.

And it seemed that despite having had the details hazy to the crew of the true nature of what was going on back in Norberg, apparently, Mercedes had decided to use her 'creative liberties' to fill in those plot holes. Which somehow meant that Naomi needed to be showing a lot of leg in that cover picture.

"I apologize that it took me so long!" Higgins said naively and in his usual dopey, jolly way. "But I didn't hear about this until this pamphlet that got printed today, which I got from Robb, who got it from Jose, who got it from Jenny, who got it from Craig, who got it from Aimee, who heard about it first!"

That was at least the head of every department in the Palace. And if they knew, then everyone else probably did. 

Naomi felt her stomach twist a little painful, realizing what those Sopaipillas and pitiful eyes had been for.

"If you'll excuse us, we need to leave right now!" Naomi said as she gripped Esteban's forearm tightly and tore down the hallway.

"Of course! Keep the pamphlet as a wedding gift from me until I can get you something else!" Higgins called after.

Naomi flinched at his words, but didn't stop moving with Esteban awkwardly in tow behind her until they got to her room. Where she pushed him inside and all but slammed the door behind her.

"This is what I was worried about!" Naomi seethed as she pushed the pamphlet into Esteban's chest.

Esteban took a moment to look at her with a bit of annoyance and straighten out his abused jacket sleeve before opening up and reading the pamphlet for himself, which he would be able to see clearly thanks to the Palace staff having lit all the candles in her room. 

Naomi watched with no satisfaction though as she saw his eyes bug out of his sockets as he too took in Mercedes's outlandish and insane words.

"That's why I wanted you to talk to me about our so-called witnesses," Naomi pressed on.

Esteban shook his head in disbelief. "How did she find out? We've told no one but our closest people."

"The sailors from **The Wayfarer** told her."

Esteban looked at her aghast. "What? How could they do such a thing!?"

"Because that's what they do!" Naomi exclaimed exasperated. "They're stuck on ships sometimes for months at a time in the middle of an unforgiving sea. Stories and gossip is what keeps them going."

"Have they no sense of loyalty to you and your mother?"

"Of course they do, but you can't also tell me that people here don't gossip."

Esteban groaned in annoyance. "Yes, Royals do, but the staff know better than to talk about things they don't understand because--"

"Because they're commoners?" Naomi interrupted sharply, putting her hands on her hips. "And commoners should be subservient to Royals, always?"

"If they don't want to get themselves killed, yes."

"Killed!?"

Esteban paid no attention to her outcry, and instead focused on rereading the beginning passage.

"Honestly, how dare she call me a 'shrewd old man!'" Esteban sneered, "I am a much more respectable man than to be called that."

"Are you kidding me right now? That's what you're worried about!?" Naomi ripped the accursed paper out of his hands, and crushed it.

His angry eyes then turned on her. "You knew this could happen, Naomi. You knew people could find out. We already had to let Oswall, someone who's weaker the less he knows, _know_ that we were married."

"Yes, I knew that." Naomi un-crumpled the pamphlet and shoved it in Esteban's face. "But this wasn't part of our deal." 

Esteban pushed her hand out of the way. "I don't know why you're angry at me. It's not like I told that author."

"I'm angry because you could have talked to me before you completely pushed me aside for the sake of your ego and having that whole wedding fiasco!"

"That whole wedding and this marriage is for your protection!" Esteban replied, matching her volume. "Or have you forgotten that?"

"Really? So that was just for me?" Naomi said as her grip on her hips tightened. "Or did I hear 'Because a sham or not, this is still a Royal wedding, and my wedding at that' somehow wrong then?"

Esteban was tripped up by her response, and that's all she needed to know that she was right, and that she also had the right to get even angrier. She had just started to feel good about this, that they had something workable, and now, who knew what was to happen next.

Naomi cringed looking at the cover once more before slamming it against his chest again.

"Here, you take it as a souvenir of your 'Royal Wedding' for you to keep when you leave for Nueva Vista next week. Safe travels."

Naomi reopened her bedroom door and left him standing there.

He didn't come after her or even call out.

Not that she had expected him too, and it was honestly for the better. She was vibrating with anger, which was only more fueled when a pair of maids froze when they saw her and then gasped when they looked over her shoulder. Probably seeing Esteban exiting her room. And as soon as Naomi passed, she could hear them descend into harsh whispers. 

The whispering only continued more with every person she passed. She couldn't have picked a worse time to leave her room as the staff were working on putting the castle down for the night. But Naomi also felt like if she stopped moving for a moment, then she would explode.

It wasn't until she exited out the nearest door into the cool night air on the southside of the palace that she finally knew where she wanted to go.

Naomi only hoped that he hadn't left yet for night patrols or any other reason when she pounded on his office door a few minutes later.

But she seemed to still have a sliver of good fortune as the door opened and Gabe stood there, still dressed in his uniform as usual.

"Naomi? What are you--?"

She didn't wait for him to finish as she muscled her way past him and into his office.

His "office" was the correct term, although it shared a lot of similar qualities to Naomi's apartments, just on a more modest scale. The main area had a large, sturdy wooden desk and with two equally sturdy chairs, with one sitting right at it and one right in front of it. The walls were decorated with an astounding amount of memorabilia from past Avaloran Military Soldiers: from plaques, to paintings, to framed swords. However, right off to the left, was the door that led to his private washroom and sleeping quarters. If memory served Naomi correctly, then the quality of everything in there wasn't too far above what the guards in the barracks got. 

But right now, his office offered the most vital thing.

Privacy.

"Did you see it?"

"What?" Gabe asked as Naomi heard him close the door.

"Did you see **_it_**?" Naomi asked again, knowing that it still sounded vague, but she couldn't bear to say those words out loud.

Thankfully Gabe, picking up on her obvious distress, didn't need any more clues to guess what she was talking about.

"I did."

Despite having so, so many words to say about it, Naomi couldn't think clearly to say any of them. So, all she could do was let out a strangled growl of frustration into her hands.

"But I only found out like 10 minutes ago when I took it off a new Lieutenant, and I didn't read it," Gabe hastily added. "I didn't want to read it."

Naomi scoffed. "Then you might be the only person who knows but hasn't read it."

She let out another groan of distress as she collapsed down ungracefully into the chair that sat right in front of the desk and let all her limbs go limp.

Naomi felt his large hand clamp down on her shoulder before giving it a few firm friendly pats.

Gabe let out a loud breath and then asked, "You want a drink?"

A weak laugh escaped her. "Well, out of social obligation of you being a nice host, I would feel bad to turn down a generous offer."

"Well, at least you still have your priorities straight," Gabe called back with a chuckle as she heard him pour some liquid into glasses, and then walk back over to hand her a small cup.

She took a sip and was almost startled when she realized it was just water, which caused Gabe to laugh at his small prank as he took his position of leaning against his desk and facing her. But, Naomi couldn't get miffed at him, not when she started chuckling herself.

A moment of silence passed as Naomi worked on taking a few small sips of the cool water. Each sip at least helping in not making her face feel so hot anymore.

"I'm sorry Naomi," Gabe then said, looking deeply into the water in his own cup. "About...everything that has happened to you."

Naomi's head jerked oddly at that apology. Mostly, because it didn't feel right. What did he have to be sorry about? He had been the perfect amount of shocked, supportive, and authoritative since he was the last one brought into the know how of the Norberg situation, missing Chloe, and marriage situation.

But that all seemed dashed away by his next statement.

"Gods, I knew I should have gone with you to Norberg!" He exclaimed as he ran a hand through his styled hair. "The whole thing reminded me of when The Delgado's had done the same thing in Cariza years ago. But I knew I had a duty here to--"

"And what could you have done?" Naomi asked accusingly, sitting straight up, her annoyance and anger reignited. "I told you, if the answer had been to fight our way out of there with a sword, or capture and lock up Oswall and Edward, I would have done that. Getting married wasn't a first choice pick."

"I don't know, I could've been the one to--"

"To what, get married?" Naomi gripped the armrest of the chair. "We agreed that we would keep a friendship."

Gabe nodded his head and put down his cup. "I know that's what we decided on, and I'm happy with that, truly. But I still could've married you to protect you and your family."

"I did get married to be protected! That's the truth!" Naomi said pointedly. Gripping her cup as the memory of the pamphlet's lies washed all over her again.

"But maybe you wouldn't be so miserable."

"You don't know that!" Naomi exclaimed, her voice wavering slightly. "As far as I'm finding out, marriage only complicates things so much. And I would hate to imagine a world where we got so bitter with each other that we couldn't speak to one another for the rest of our lives! Not to mention, I didn't want to get married to anybody, period. Certainly not after--"

Naomi managed to stop herself before Nadia's name came out and she couldn't take it back. She hadn't told anyone, not even Elena, just how deep her relationship with the older woman she had met a year ago in Corinthia had gone. The same woman that Mercedes had drawn as that damsel in distress in her ridiculous covers. Naomi had been confused and heart broken at the time to be able to put her feelings into any cohesive thought.

Now, she really felt like she couldn't say anything. If this is how they all reacted to her marrying Esteban for convenience, what would they say to knowing that her first real love and heartbreak had been with a courtesan?

"After what, Naomi?" Gabe asked, taking a knee in front of her.

Naomi shook her head and pushed the lump in her throat far down. "It doesn't matter."

"Look, it's done." Naomi said as she moved out of the chair, since it no longer felt comfortable, and sat on the ground instead with her back against the front of his desk. "I didn't come here for some noble and chivalrous act, I came here because I just...needed some help from a friend. Someone I know who thinks exactly like me."

Gabe took a moment of self-reflection before he nodded his head, and moved to sit beside her. "You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it sound like a pity fest for any of us. And certainly not for you."

"I know. I didn't mean to snap at you." Naomi put on a smirk. "I know you can't help the way you are ‘Mr. tall, amazing, hero of Avalor with your rippling pectorals.’"

"Just my pectorals?" Gabe asked with mock offense as he raised up and flexed a perfectly toned and muscular arm, causing a more real smile to tug at Naomi's lips.

Gabe reached up to his desk and brought down his cup. "So, what should we do? What's the plan Naomi?"

It was only at that moment, that Naomi suddenly realized, there was no plan. 

It was true that she had come here because she wanted help from Gabe. They had done countless missions together, and have even fought back-to-back during the battle of Elena's coronation. They also held the same belief of the value of pre-planning and working with a team, rather than the more impulsive and solo hero tactics that Elena and Mateo led with. Perhaps it came with being non-magic users.

However, while Gabe was great for planning out battles, tracking down enemies, and sword fighting with his swift reflexes, how could any of that help her now?

He didn't know anything about diplomacy to keep Oswall and Edward out of trouble, or have any high connections to help find Chloe, or have the power to change her parent's past, or know how to get people to not gossip about her and Esteban, as that would surely only get worse.

It was true that she could sense that they were becoming too different of people, wanting too different things out of life to be more than friends right now. But it wasn't until now that it truly donned on Naomi that none, absolutely none, of her friends or skills she or they currently had could fully help her in the position she was now in. 

So, this caused Naomi to slump back against the desk more, and force her to say the three words that she loathed above all others.

"I don't know..."


	10. Into the Unknown

Fortunately - very fortunately - the focus of the Palace and a majority of the Kingdom got shifted off of the Scandalously Ever After fiasco, and onto Isabel as she finally departed for Satu a few days later. 

It wasn't perfect, as the Palace staff still came to a halt to spy on Esteban and Naomi when they so much as passed one another. However, since this was the Little Crown Princess, the Kingdom's sweetheart, that was leaving, the staff was also ready to drop everything and help Isabel out.

Including all of the gifts that they had showered her with: extra pens, boxes of pastries, and at least 15 pairs of hand knitted socks since it actually snowed in Satu during the winter, and they couldn't risk her losing any toes. All these gifts, on top of her already extended luggage, required all hands on deck to get them loaded up on The Wayfarer. 

Even with the back breaking and sweat pouring work, the hardest part of that morning turned out to be when the final goodbyes were to be exchanged. 

Luisa and Francisco were first up in the line that had unconsciously formed. Their hug with Isabel and soft murmurs had a touch of sadness to it, but was mostly clouted by exuberation. That seemed to be expected, Naomi realized, as they had had two daughters that had been grown, had babies of their own, and had lived in two distantly located places. And from this exchange, Naomi fully understood the difference between goodbye and farewell. 

Gabe was next, and had an entirely different feel as he easily swept Isabel up off her feet and into a tight hug. It was similar to the way he had always picked her up when she was younger. Though, she may be a tad too big now to comfortably sit on top of one of his shoulders. Isabel was placed back down laughing brightly, her cheeks flushed pink as Gabe not to subtly wiped one of his eyes, most likely brushing a tear away. 

That laughter didn't last as Elena didn't even try to have any kind of calm and collected nature as she crushed Isabel into such a tight embrace that Naomi feared that her friend would break her sister's bones. 

"Why are you going to college so far away again!?" Elena loudly exclaimed. "What's wrong with Avalor? Is it Javier? I can make him go somewhere else!" 

Isabel smiled as she managed to pull out her arms and wrap them around Elena more comfortably. "Javier is going somewhere else. So I can't have him beat me there." The younger girl then smirked. "Besides, I'm just trying to uphold the 'long standing tradition of fostering to improve relations between Kingdoms' by going there. You know, like what a good Crown Princess should be doing." 

Elena hmphed and tightened her grip, if that was even possible. "Since when did you get so cheeky? Where did my innocent _hermanita_ go!?" 

"She probably suffocated from your overprotective mother hen hugs," Isabel wheezed. "Emperor Toshi and Ambassador Soji will be in Satu themselves for the next few months if I need them. And you said you weren't going to make a big deal about this!" 

"How is this making a big deal?" Elena said, nuzzling her cheek roughly against Isabel's forehead. 

The two began speaking even more rapidly in Spanish and Naomi ended up losing the conversation from that point. She knew the language, and could switch from Latin to Spanish pretty easily, but there was still no competition against full native speakers. 

Eventually though, the conversation ended with Elena saying something and sighing. They each relaxed to form a real and proper hug, with small, silent tears both rolling down their cheeks. There was no doubt that everyone would have let them stay like that all day if they wanted to, and not wanting to be the one to break up the heartfelt embrace. But, it was the sisters themselves who simultaneously let out shaky breaths before releasing the hug. 

"Alright," Elena said, smoothing back a few strands of Isabel's hair. "Go blow us all away." 

Isabel nodded and reluctantly let go of Elena's hand.

Mateo was next, giving Isabel too a warm, but not quite as fierce, hug. 

"Remember," Isabel began. "You need to check the vitals of the objects at 3, 5, and 7 PM every other day. And to close the velvet curtains at sundown so the solar ray objects don't get tainted by the moonbeams. And only do one container of varying size a week." 

On and on she rambled, but Mateo only stayed quiet and nodded his head at every order she gave him with a smile on his face. 

When she finished, he simply said, "I have all your notes. I'll make you proud. And it will all work out considering how great of **_chemistry_** we have as lab partners together." 

Isabel let out a large groan into his robe covered shoulder while he and Elena both started laughing at the awful pun. She made a quick get away from her painfully dorky family members to take the outstretched hands of Esteban. 

"Ah, a Royal family member going to the great Otani University," Esteban proclaimed proudly. "This is surely a mark of achievement for the family." 

Isabel raised up an eyebrow. "Well, at least as the second Flores to go there, right?" 

"This is true," Esteban said, a certain smirk on his face that he got when he was talking about himself. And Naomi had half a second to realize that he had gone to that University as well before he officially confirmed it. 

"And I want you to take full advantage of those four years. I only had a semester or two there and the time there can go by so fast. So, don't forget to see--" 

"The Sakura tree viewing in the spring." 

"And also visit--" 

"The hot springs up in the Kusatsu Onsen, not the Shibu Onsen in Yamanouchi because of the monkeys. And we don't want another repeat of the monkeys. I know, I know." 

Isabel then displayed some impressive agility on her part as she jumped up to wrap her arms around his neck despite being a head shorter. "You won't find another chess partner to replace me, will you?" 

"I would never replace you, _mi angelita_ ," Esteban said, wrapping his arms tightly around her before he lifted her up a little off the ground. 

"Oh _Primo_ ," Isabel said affectionately and pressed a kiss to his cheek. 

Naomi felt her heart soften at the affection, and she was somewhat relieved too that she was still able to just feel something for this man besides contempt. 

As Isabel then stepped up to Naomi, the final person, she didn't even try to hide her exhaustion. 

Naomi didn't take any offense to it though, and ruffled the girl's hair. "You could have taken a page from my book, and left in the middle of the night or at least in some grand fashion!" 

"Maybe I will next time. I love them, but they can be..." Isabel trailed off softly, and instead gave Naomi a quick hug. 

"Are you sure I shouldn't stay? With everything going on?" She asked, in an almost pleading tone. "I can put off going till next semester to finish some inventions! Or the--" 

"It's fine, truly," Naomi interrupted gently. She knew that from the past that Isabel hated to be kept out of the loop being the youngest. 

However, Naomi also knew that there always seemed to be SOMETHING happening or going wrong in the Kingdom that before one knew it, three years could fly by and they wake up one morning feeling terribly restless and slightly depressed, and decide to drastically change tactics and become an independent explorer. Or perhaps that had just been her experience. 

Still, Naomi clapped down a firm hand on the girl's shoulder. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I wouldn't feel right if we kept your amazing brain here. A good bit of travel is uplifting for the soul. Plus, you need to go out there and prove why Avalor is the best Kingdom in all the EverRealm." 

That seemed to satisfy Isabel at little as she nodded, but she also added rather quickly, "But, if I feel like I want to really, really come back and help, someone will come get me?" 

Naomi smirked, impressed by her perseverance. She put an arm around the younger girl's shoulders and turned her away from prying eyes. "I'll come get you personally if you ever feel that strongly about it. Deal?" 

Now seeming fully satisfied, Isabel stood up a little more straighter and nodded more fiercely. "Deal." 

With that, the Princess gave one more look to the long line of people, her familia, before turning to climb up the gangplank. She only stopped when she reached the top of it to blow them all a kiss, and then disappear onto the ship. 

"Queen Elena." 

Though only one name was called, everyone turned to the voice, including Naomi rather hastily, as her mother Captain Scarlett approached, her Captains hat sitting firmly atop her head, with Naomi's father Daniel right beside her. 

"If it's alright by you, after I drop off Princess Isabel, I was hoping to do some more investigation concerning Princess Chloe," Scarlett declared without a moment's hesitation. 

“Oh!” Elena blinked her eyelids rapidly a few times out of shock. 

Naomi followed her friend in her own shock. However, hers only lasted a fraction of a second, similar to getting pricked by a rose thorn. She guessed Elena probably still wasn't used to the way that her mom operated: coming in and declaring something that she had set her mind to. 

In the past, it usually involved moving to a new port in only a few days. Even if that meant missing the local dance pageant Naomi had spent hours and hours practicing for in secret, even though she hated dancing and wasn't very good at it, and therefore meant she held a great deal of resentment at her parents. And then in turn felt a great deal of resentment to herself for feeling that way about her parents, and instantly made sure she was the first one packed and ready to go. 

That seemed to be the way she was remembering all her memories with her parents nowadays. 

Elena finally caught up in recovering. "Of course. Um...in what way were you thinking, Captain Turner?" 

"Well, with Princess Isabel essentially being fostered in Satu, it reminded me that Queen Abigail herself also spent some time in Freezenberg for a similar experience." Scarlett waved a hand, "While I was never with her during that time, as I was already in the military, we did keep in touch through letters. Perhaps she has some old acquaintances there who may know what happened in Norberg. Best case scenario, is that Chloe is there herself." 

"That's actually a fantastic idea then!" Elena said, an excited grin on her face. "You have my full permission Captain Turner to travel to Freezenberg and anywhere else you may deem necessary." 

"Much obliged, your majesty," Scarlett said, tipping her hat to Elena. 

Elena nodded back before the farewell party then began following behind her lead to move to the secondary location at the end of the Harbor, where they would be able to wave off Isabel before she was gone for good. 

"Noams," Her father then said, and out of habit Naomi stopped. "Can we have a moment, please?" 

Despite his soft tone, Naomi wasn't entirely sure she wanted to, even though she knew by this point she was acting like a bit of a brat. 

However, in the past, when Naomi reflected on times when she had poor behavior, she liked to evaluate to see where things went wrong. This time proved difficult though when she had to reevaluate her whole life before she could decide if she was justified or not. 

Even with what she thought was a strong resolve on the matter, when she looked at her parents...she had still missed them these last couple of weeks. Terribly. 

So, Naomi quickly waved a hand to Elena, who had been nervously glancing back even as she continued walking, and gave her full attention to her parents. 

At the very least, all three of them didn't look out of place standing together. Naomi had worn breeches today in order to give herself her full range of movement, and the short puffy sleeved Avaloran shirt with bright painted flowers she had on was still modest. Meaning no one should be bothering to listen in on them. 

And even if they wanted to, with her mother standing tall and exuding her usual confidence and power, one would be wiser to keep walking. 

It ended up being her father though who took a deliberate stance between the two women and began speaking. "We understand that you are feeling..." He shrugged his shoulders. "Well to be honest we don't know exactly how you're feeling, but we know it's not great since I know when you're giving someone the silent treatment." 

Naomi proved his point as she wanted to cry out in denial, but the other overwhelming side of her wanted to remain quiet to not break the tough exterior she was trying to put on. The conflicting sides made her gape like a fish, but her father only continued on. 

"However, that doesn't mean we haven't been keeping up with what's been going on" Her father then looked to the side in embarrassment, "Especially with that...pamphlet."

Naomi felt like she wanted to throw herself into the ocean and sink to the bottom at that very second. 

"And so, we were hoping to help--or at lend a hand in--um--" 

"Do you want to come with me?" Her mother asked abruptly. 

"With you?" Naomi reaffirmed dumbly. 

Scarlett nodded. "To Satu, and then Freezenberg, and then wherever else we might head. It's why I wanted to load everything with Princess Isabel now, because we could still spare an hour for you to get your things together if you say yes." 

Naomi remained silent. Apparently she had been wrong, her mother could still shock her. 

This also must have not been the reaction her parents had been expecting either as they shared a glance before her mother reached into her pocket and presented a fairly large sized broad-ribbed cardita seashell. 

"You gave it to me when you were still so small, when we were stationed out in Huna. You had to be..." 

"Five," Her father answered, saving her mother. 

"Five. That's right. And you gave it to me for good luck since it was the prettiest shell you had ever seen in your whole life." 

Naomi looked at the shell, still not knowing what to say. She had collected hundreds of shells during her life. Always getting her skirt sandy and dirty from her haul that she would dump on the dining table. Before she then spent hours meticulously cleaning them and putting them on the window sill. But, when they were to move, she only picked her favorite and returned the rest to the sea. 

She didn't remember this shell at all or that memory. However, she vaguely remembered the place. It had been one of the many places she had revisited on her travels. Going there mostly in hopes of reconnecting with old acquaintances, and reliving the few and scattered memories she had between all the places she had lived throughout her life. 

However, when Naomi had revisited those places, she found out that a majority of those acquaintances had moved, died, or had even completely forgotten about her.

And just that reminder made this shell, and thereby another branch of her relationship with her parents, have a dark line slashed through it. 

So, even though her parents were extending an olive branch, or shell in this case, and an out...she couldn't take it. Not this time.

Being on a ship could be very freeing, but it could also be very claustrophobic when two shipmates weren't getting along. Naomi had seen how animosity could fester and grow until the fighting shipmates either had to stand on opposite of the ships, be locked up in the brig, or even cause injury or death to either themselves and/or others.

While Naomi didn't think it would ever be as dramatic as that last one, she still couldn't fully trust herself to not let her emotions get in the way with being on only a ship with her mother for weeks or months on end. To not let the wound heal, but instead to let it become deeper until it became infected.

Plus, she had come back to Avalor with the intention of keeping her feet on land for a while, on the land of her home. In the place that felt safe and secure because Elena made this place feel safe and secure, while Naomi sorted things out, and that still hadn't changed. 

Naomi rubbed awkwardly at her still bare neck as she finally answered with, "The compass isn't pointing North." 

She watched as her parent's faces fell slightly before they nodded in understanding. They would probably be the only ones here in Avalor to understand since that was an old Norberg saying. 

Scarlett brought the shell forth once again. "I think you need this more than I do now, for wherever your compass points." 

Naomi accepted the gift with her heart clenching tight. 

It seemed like it would be easier to simply put up a wall like she had done in the past, cutting people off completely. Yet here she was, still using that saying. One of the few Norberg sayings she knew that had connected her to a heritage that she wouldn’t have known otherwise. Well, those, and the old Norbergian Compass that all three of the Turners had tattooed between their shoulder blades. Connecting them together. Always. 

"Hey," Naomi began, wetting her lips nervously as she ran her thumb over the shell's rough edges. "You know that I love you. I love you both so much. So much that it's why I can't..." 

"We love you too Noams," Her mother finished, saving her this time. 

Her father put an arm around each Turner woman and pulled them altogether for a tight hug. 

Naomi leaned her head against her father and touched her mother's hand. "Be safe. And I'll start writing, just so you know where I am." 

"We would like that very much," Her father said. 

Her parents then looked at one another and met for a kiss. And in that brief moment, everything felt normal. 

"Alright," Scarlett declared as the embrace broke and she straightened out her hat. "Well, old girl's not going to go anywhere without me, so I better go Captain her." 

Rather than take the gangplank up, Scarlett jumped onto the net that was hoisting up a repaired cannon onto the ship. She gracefully leapt off it and landed somewhere on the main deck, her gruff voice barking out orders. Captain Turner was back in business. 

With nothing more they could do, Naomi and Daniel made their way to the farewell party. 

They took a spot near the end of the line in order not to disrupt the group. Of course, Elena still leaned forward so she could look at Naomi. 

'We'll talk later,' She mouthed. 

'Thank you,' Naomi replied back just as silently. 

"Your Majesty!" 

Again, everyone turned to the voice, who this time ended up being Doña Paloma. 

"Good to see you Doña,” Elena said, just as kindly as she would to any citizen of her Kingdom. “I thought you said you wouldn't be able to make it?" 

"Oh, of course I wouldn't want to miss this little soirée." 

Naomi somehow doubted that. Doña was still dressed in her usual blue dress robes and obscenely large gold and emerald jewelry, with her fan already fluttering. If she really wanted to act like she wanted to help out, she could have at least dressed down like the rest of them had. Even Esteban had ditched his burgundy jacket, though he had mostly spent the morning ordering people around. 

Doña snapped her fan shut. "I only originally turned down the invitation because I was busy putting together some samples for when Queen Rebecca visits. Just because we already established a trade agreement for cloth, doesn't mean we can't set our sights for other goods, and I was thinking those Galonia chocolate coins would be a great addition." 

Elena tapped her chin. "That is...extremely helpful of you Doña Paloma. Thank you!" 

The woman laid her closed fan upon her chest. "But of course. Anything to help the Kingdom." 

Elena went to say something else, but she suddenly put a hand to her temple and swayed a little. 

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Elena quickly said rapidly as everyone reached a hand forward. She appeased them by taking Mateo's arm. "I just started feeling a little lightheaded. Harbor master, can I trouble you for some water?" 

Daniel nodded and immediately started walking away, "I know of a well nearby, I'll return shortly." 

"Let's get you in some shade until the ship comes by," Gabe said in a tone that was a little more commanding than just merely suggesting, and took up the spot on Elena's other side as the three of them walked together over to a nearby shady spot with the abuelos as well. 

Everything was handled so smoothly and swiftly that Naomi couldn't even offer any assistance. She was extremely glad the guys had been here for Elena though. It had been one the things that had made her initial leave those couple of years ago that much easier. 

"Well, if it isn't the happy newlyweds."

Naomi felt a shiver run down her spine, similar to hearing a fork running across a glass plate, as she turned back to Doña. 

The woman’s fan was back out, but was fluttering in a much more agitated way, like an angry pigeon, which matched her whole demeanor. Apparently that act of goodwill had been for Elena only. 

"And it's so kind of you to grace us with your presence, Village spinster," Esteban replied back in an instant. 

The sneer that came over Doña’s face was so large, that not even her obnoxious fan could hide it.

"I knew something else had gone on in Norberg that you were not telling me!" Doña exclaimed, but not loud enough to catch Elena's attention of course. "You don't come back with a trade agreement with prunes for nothing! I mean...prunes! The one fruit that no one on this side of the Jordan Sea likes! And now I have so many shipments cluttering my emporium that could have been used for something of a higher class quality." 

"I thought you had a world famous emporium where you made your fortune. So you should be able to sell anything," Naomi remarked wryly. 

Doña snapped her fan shut with much more force, and Naomi wished it had been enough force to just break the damn thing. "I also didn't make my fortune by being easily swindled, young lady. I know when I'm being cheated out of something. So, what else are you not telling me?" 

Neither Naomi nor Esteban made any kind of movement to look at one another or move from their firm stances. It had been decided that the operation in looking for Chloe’s disappearance and the suspected murder of Queen Abigail would only be shared with the most essential people needed. And Doña Paloma wasn’t on it. After all, she had been summoned before for only formalities sake.

And from the heavy sigh she then gave, she knew this as well.

"Fine then." Doña’s lips curled into the most wicked grin. "If that's the case, at least Avalor will soon get a respectable Chancellor once again. One that's not a vulgar cradle robber with a gold digging vixen for a wife." 

Naomi felt her heart rate and her blood pressure spike in an instant. Mercedes making her a hopelessly in love maiden was one thing, but this was an obvious and gross slander of her character. And Naomi had zero tolerance for that. 

Before Naomi even knew what was happening, her body was moving towards Doña. She pushed up her sleeves even though it wasn't necessary because she wanted the message to be clear: she was ready to throw down. 

Doña actually looked nervous for a moment as her fan moved away from her face and into a more defensive position. But Naomi didn't make it far before Esteban tightly caught her arm. 

"I don't remember Elena or myself saying anything about the position needing to be filled," He replied in an even tone, but it was through clearly clenched teeth.

"Well, you're now a _Duke_ , Esteban," Doña said, putting as much venom in the title as she could. "And everyone knows you'll be out of the picture soon to go to Nueva Vista. So, there will be a need for a replacement.”

“Don’t forget that I’m still here,” Naomi said defiantly, taking a step forward with her arm slipping through Esteban’s grip that had unintentionally become laxed. Or had it been intentional?

Either way, Doña wasn't unnerved by Naomi this time as she lifted up one of her perfectly sharp brows. “Is that so? I didn’t know you were interested in that kind of position? Is that what you've decided for yourself?” 

Doña then let out a tinkling laugh, no doubt in response to the visibly clenched jaw and downward eyes that Naomi couldn't stop herself from doing as her bluff was called out.

“Well, as long as you don’t try and use any underhanded moves this time to rightfully earn your title, _Duchess_ , then I look forward to seeing what you’ll have to offer Avalor.” 

**************

When Elena had said about talking later, Naomi had assumed that meant tomorrow or even later tonight. 

But Elena’s definition of “later” meant grabbing a hold of Naomi's arm as soon as the business at the Port had wrapped up, and dragging her to the seamstress room where Manolo had finished the sketches for Elena’s new maternity dresses. 

Somehow though, in the midst of Manalo discussing necklines, Naomi suddenly ended up the one standing awkwardly on the room’s central pedestal, where she was now either rather intimately getting her measurements taken or getting bombarded with questions. Like what style she wanted or colors, which Naomi had no idea. 

"I will need some answers soon. Chancellor--or uh Duke Flores says he wants at least 6 day dresses made," The seamstress said distressingly as he continued pulling fabric. "And that's not even counting the evening ones." 

"You can make it 3!" Naomi exclaimed, feeling embarrassment creep up to her neck. "He acts like I don't have any clothes." 

"You know how Esteban is when it comes to appearance," Elena said from where she laid out on the small chaise lounge, with a pile of letters she had received from Armando laying on her stomach. 

"You mean he doesn't want me to appear as a commoner?” 

"I'm sure it's not quite as harsh," Elena tried reassuringly. "And, don't tell him I agree with him, but you do have to have certain attires for Royal Functions now." Elena motioned to her friend. "And, most of the clothes you have now are hammy downs from Isa." 

"Well, they fit just fine. And I still have my dresses, which includes my ball gown!" Naomi argued.

"The one you wore for my coronation 3 years ago?" 

Manolo let out a horrified gasp as he dropped the papers he had started sketching some dress designs on. "You have something THAT out of fashion!?" 

Naomi shook her head at the over exaggeration. “It should still fit me just fine...I think.”

Senora Torres then came in with a tray, and Naomi sighed in relief. She was ready for the usual tea and Avaloran chocolate that Elena had around this time. 

However, when she looked at the tray that was placed down, she was taken aback by the bowl of Jungle Avaloran nuts and pitcher of cranberry juice. 

"Oh yes! Thank you!" Elena said, eyes sparkling like a little girl as she sat up right. "My cravings are killing me." 

"Wow, what happened to your sweet tooth?" Naomi asked as she got off the pedestal to join Elena over by the chaise.

"Temporarily out of commission." 

"Another symptom?" 

"The worst one by far," Elena said with a great sigh as she popped a few nuts into her mouth. "I haven't been able to really eat chocolate for a month now." 

"But you just had _Champurrado_ the other day with me," Naomi noted as she poured herself a glass of juice.

"Ah yes, uh, well...” Elena fumbled out uncharacteristically nervously after she took the glass Naomi had also poured for her. “I only took a sip because I wanted to make you feel better." 

Elena must have known Naomi was about to say something about how unnecessary that was, because she made an immediate grab for the next letter that was on top of the pile and opened it.

"Ugh!” Elena then said rather shortly into her reading the letter.

"More good news?" Naomi asked dryly. She was so close to suggesting to Elena that they should just outlaw the postal system with how much doom and gloom all their letters kept providing them with recently. 

"It's a response from King Hector," Elena said. "Well, more of a response from his scribe, unsurprisingly, but it seems Jeremy was ordered to put in by King Hector that he wishes for us to know 'that he shouldn’t be bothered with anymore nonsense since he is very busy with his very important task of setting up his 6th summer palace on his very luxurious vacation islands he just acquired very recently.'" 

"How very annoying," Naomi said and Elena smiled. 

Elena sighed. "I should have expected something like this from him. Though I had hoped. Especially with Chloe probably out there, all alone and scared and innocent." She blinked away the dark look that had been forming in her eyes. "King Hector still has Jeremy sign this 'From his most Royal Majesty, King Hector XIV, visionary of the West, Ruler of the White Marbled Kingdom of Hectoria, Modern Day Architect." 

"The fourteenth?" Naomi asked as she had met King Hector before, so nothing else about the letter surprised her personally. 

"It's apparently tradition there that the Ruling Monarch changes their birth name to either Hector or Hectoria on the day of their coronation." 

"What was his name before?" 

"Don't know, although I would certainly love to have that information,” Elena said as she folded up the letter and placed it on the ‘read’ pile.

“Would sure come in handy next time we see him and need to reel him in," Naomi said as she took a seat by Elena.

“Maybe I’ll just throw him and Alonso together next time. It’s already a miracle that those two haven't interacted at all yet," Elena said, groaning at just the mere mention of the vain Prince of Cordoba. "Although, I also fear some cosmic shift might happen in the universe if their two vain personalities clashed together. Then next thing you know, we’ve got the Titans reemerging and causing chaos all over the EverRealm again."

Naomi laughed into her drink. The Titans were from such an old and ancient legend, that no one actually knew if they had existed at all or were merely some dramatization of something else. So, that just made it all the more obvious to Naomi that dramatics ran naturally in the Royal family.

“And here I thought Prince Alonso was making progress in bettering himself.”

Elena shrugged her shoulders. "He is, sort of, although Alonso also felt it necessary in HIS letter to assure me that 'he would be on the case and Cordoba would be proudly saving a beautiful Princess in distress, if she had crossed into their borders.'" 

Naomi gave another laugh, but it quickly dissipated at a suddenly horrifying realization.

After spending many days now regarding this Norberg situation, Naomi came to the conclusion that there were easily a number of factors as to why Avalor hadn't heard about this situation until it was too late. But now that Naomi was to believe that all the Kingdoms surrounding Avalor and even the ones located to the far East and West hadn't heard anything either, it was no wonder Oswall had wanted to capture her just because of her remark.

Queen Abigail’s secret letter, Chloe’s disappearance, and then finally the reconnaissance group had all led to the cat being let out of the bag, and ruined whatever original plan Oswall and Edward had.

Naomi shuddered to think what they would do in retaliation.

"Oh good! You guys are still here." 

Mateo entered the room at a brisk jog with something tucked under his arm.

He revealed what it was as he held up a small wooden box with a bright grin on his face. "I've got your request ready for you, Elena." 

"Already?" Elena asked, a great deal of alarm in her voice. "Did you get any sleep last night?" 

Mateo waved a hand dismissively as he passed his wife the box. "Enough. I’m still making slow progress with the experiments. So, this is something I can do for now." 

Elena narrowed her eyes as she placed her drink down. "Mateo, you just reminded me the other day about how many things we have coming up." 

He looked away. "I know, but--"

"No buts," Elena said firmly, and Naomi felt the need to look the other way to give the illusion of some privacy, and saw that Manolo was doing the same.

" **_But,_** " Mateo said back anyway. "This is something that also would have made you happy to see finished. And I wanted to make sure you got some of it too since we'll be so busy."

Naomi smiled, she had to admit that was smooth. 

Elena thought the same thing as Naomi heard her sigh and say, "That was too nice of you to say for me to get upset at, you know that?"

"I wasn't doing anything more than I already would," Mateo said, followed by the sound of lips smacking for a short kiss.

"Still, when I'm finished here, we're going to talk, okay?" Elena said, her voice having an edge of Queeniness to it.

Mateo chuckled. "Okay."

Naomi felt it safe to turn back around. Mateo gave them a small wave and left the room.

Even though the disagreement hadn't seemed like anything major, Naomi still felt compelled to then ask, "You okay?" 

"Hmm? Oh, yes, we're fine." Elena pushed back a piece of hair behind her ear. "But, we're just still having moments where we need to figure out the balance of him being the Prince Consort, but also for me to be the wife of the Royal Wizard. We mostly line up, since everything we do is for the good of Avalor, but sometimes...it requires a bit more push and pull. And with the baby on the way, it's adding a bit of stress." 

"Well, if it helps at all, for the Olaball tournament, I saved ALL the decorations from some of the past festivals and organized, and stored them in the 'this and that' attic. Armando should have the paperwork," Naomi offered. "Actually, you could even use those for the Grand Opening of the Wizard Guild too. And you should post help wanted signs down in the taverns if you need extra hands for the construction." Naomi sighed, "And you could even get help from Mercedes in making up the posters to stir people into action. She seems to have a talent for that."

Elena smiled. "You are such a lifesaver, you know that? This is why I told all of them that I wanted you to go to Nueva Vista, but I also knew that wasn't a good--"

Elena jolted as if she had just bit down on her tongue, but it had been in vain, because Naomi had heard.

So Elena had put some thought into or at least knew that making Esteban a Duke would affect Naomi as a Duchess. And on top of all that, she wanted her to go, but was going out of her way to shield and protect Naomi.

Again, Elena quickly diverted to something else as she picked up the box and said, "You shouldn't be put off by Mercedes' story. She did the same thing to us when it became known that Mateo and I were courting."

Naomi's eyes widened. Elena had never written about that to her. "She did?"

Elena nodded her head, her cheeks already turning pink. "Oh yeah. It was called something ridiculous like, _Beware of the Wizard."_

Naomi instantly started laughing. "Seriously? That title alone makes Mateo sound like some kind of...insatiable ladies man!"

Elena laughed as well, but also covered her face with one hand in embarrassment. "I know! Rafa had a conniption about it, and even some of the palace staff too! Even though they know he's the sweetest and kindest guy ever! I guess this is why Mercedes is the most popular author in Avalor."

Elena took a sip of her juice. "Still, it was a love story about how we were soulmates and destined to be together. So, it was written with all the best good intentions," She said, fanning her face a little. "Besides, we know how ridiculous of a situation it is, yours and Esteban's marriage. You two wouldn't have married unless absolutely necessary."

Naomi felt her mood lighten exponentially. It always made her feel good to know her and Elena were on the same page.

“Anyways, I’ve got something for you!" Elena said excitedly, as she picked up the small box and placed it in Naomi's lap. “It was supposed to be a welcome home gift, but ended up taking a little longer than usual because I wanted it to be perfect, and Mateo didn't want to take any shortcuts.” 

Naomi was no fully intrigued as she placed her drink down and opened up the lid. The inside of the lid had a small mirror while the box itself was inlaid with blue velvet. And in the very middle of it laid a platinum hair clip in the curly shape of small diamond studded orchids on a vine. The exact same type of hair clip that Elena had.

"When Mateo and Isabel had first begun experimenting with magical items from Takaina, they wanted to first try and recreate my outfit to see if they could get the same results. Though, I had to convince them to only do clothes, since we certainly don't need another Scepter of Night situation again," Elena rambled off, similar to the way her Royal Wizard did. "The attempts weren't successful, except for the clip. So, I asked, very nicely, to have it, and Mateo then also tweaked it slightly so that it's imbued with some kind of enchantments to glow when you are around magical items and can even protect you against low level spells and spirits.” 

“This really is too much, Elena," Naomi said automatically as she shut the lid. 

She didn't hate it, quite the opposite actually, it was an incredibly beautiful and thoughtful gift that tugged at Naomi's heart. And she also knew she couldn't ever give something as meaningful back in return.

“Nonsense!" Elena exclaimed absolutely, grabbing one of Naomi's hands. "You’re my sister. That’s always been the case.” She reopened the lid. “And no matter how this situation that you and Esteban are in ends, it’s something that will never change to me.” 

Elena reached into the box and delicately picked up the hair clip. She then tentatively brushed back some of Naomi’s hair and clipped in the stunningly beautiful accessory. 

Naomi raised up the box to look into the mirror. Reflected back were Naomi and Elena's faces, their now matching hair clips sparkling in the afternoon sun together.

A warm feeling settled over Naomi at that sight as she leaned back so the two women's heads touched. 

She owed Elena so much: Her council position, her apprenticeship with Professor Mendoza, her mom's military position, and of course, her ship **The WindChaser.**

Naomi still knew she could never repay her back for all those things. However, she knew that also meant that she couldn't just sit around, idly waiting for Chloe to reappear or for her marriage to end. Not when her sister needed her somewhere else more important.

And that's when Naomi knew what she needed to do.

The hair clip continued to feel heavy on Naomi's head when she left the seamstress room an hour later. 

She now had a full wardrobe of clothes for all the, apparently, different occasions they would call for. They were made of silk, or cotton, and frills were kept at a minimum. Not to mention there also had to be all the accessories including shoes, chokers, jewelry, belts, and stockings. She was surprised that Esteban hadn't demanded Royal undergarments to be made for her as well. 

She tried to push those thoughts to the side though as she, for once, was trying to go see Esteban with the intention of having no snarky comments as she continued towards the direction that his office was supposed to be in.

It ended up being much easier to find, she thought to herself as it ended up being the only set of doors at the end of a very long hallway, almost like it was completely away from the Palace itself.

Naomi approached the doors. She took a deep breath, grabbed the round door handle, and gave it a great pull. Only for it to be locked and Naomi to almost pull her arm out of her socket. 

"Oh, hello Naomi!"

Naomi jumped and turned around to see Higgins approaching, a torta in hand.

"Duke Esteban isn't here right now, he's taking his afternoon siesta, so he always has me guard the doors since he doesn't like anyone to go in there besides himself!"

Naomi almost went to remark that if he wasn't doing a very good job guarding if he had left to go get a snack, but dropped it as she was already feeling a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance creeping up.

"But I have the keys, so I can let you in!" He exclaimed as he pulled out a key ring with heavy different rings jangling from it.

"You will?"

"Of course!" Higgins said as he immediately grabbed the right key and went to open the door. "You are his wife after all, so it should be fine!"

Naomi again kept a smart remark to herself as she gratefully took the man's offer. Perhaps being married to Esteban could have some perks. Mainly, to suit her needs.

She decided though to go ahead and close the door behind her and lock it while she waited for Esteban. The day was growing late, so if he was still sticking to his rigorous schedule, which Naomi had full confidence that he would be, he would be up shortly.

Until then, Naomi realized that she would be able to kill time exploring as she glanced around the large room. She had assumed that given his stiff nature, that the office wouldn't be anymore furnished and decorated than any other room in the palace.

However, just the walls themselves were practically covered in all sorts of pictures that ranged from full sized portraits to small paper sketches that one could barely see the red wallpaper underneath. 

The one that really caught her attention was a painting of a man and woman that was by far the largest one. The woman had bright green eyes, long curly hair that she wore loose around her shoulders, and a small beauty mark right above her mouth that was in large, beautiful smile. The man had a full, but closely trimmed dark beard that matched styled back hair, and dark brown eyes that fit his darker skin tone perfectly and the good-natured smirk on his lips. They seemed to be royal and a couple given their fine clothing and how close they were holding one another, with each of them having a hand on the woman's baby bump. 

There was something about them, bits and pieces of them that resonated so familiar to Naomi, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She then spied a guitar propped up in a stand in a far corner, which shouldn't be surprising with the rest of Flores knowing how to play, though Naomi had never seen Esteban himself play before.

On the other side of the room was an enormous bookshelf that touched from one corner of a wall to the other and almost touched the ceiling. Naomi stepped closer to the book shelf. Just from what she could see in her eye line, there were books on every Kingdom alphabetized by subjects like: fashion, history, medicine, and so on. She realized that this must be the mysterious private collection that Isabel had talked about the other day. And it was nothing to scoff at, as one could travel the whole EverRealm without leaving this room with a collection like this. 

Her gaze was then caught by a blue fish patterned book spine that looked familiar to her. She carefully pulled the book out between the two much larger and more impressive books that it was nestled between. 

Naomi smiled in triumph at the title: 

_To the Edge of the World by Sergio Lispin_

She walked over to his desk to take a seat in the surprisingly comfy velvet chair as she flipped to a random page of the book and began reading a passage.

Naomi smiled as she immediately recognized this portion of the book, though she hadn't read it in years. This book looked like it had been years as well from the faded color of the pages and the corners creased or folded down. Someone had also written in the margins of the pages in black ink that said:

_Visit here first. They will have to take me seriously once I come back with the grand jewels of this Kingdom. I will not want anything else unless I can be free from here._

Underneath it though was another note in the same handwriting, but was written in blue ink:

_Oh you foolish, stupid boy!_

Was this Esteban's handwriting? It looked so sloppy and scrawled, like it had been written rather hastily, that she couldn't fully tell.

Naomi leaned further towards the sunlight to get a better look at the words, but it was instantly forgotten about as something shined in the corner of her eye.

It was a compass laid carefully on a pillow on the corner of his desk. It was incredible and finely made. It looked like it and the needle was made of gold, with the glass cover made of a more diamond material. Rubies were inlaid around the edges, and instead of the more modern N,S,E,W for the navigational points, they were ancient runes.

Naomi carefully picked up the compass, and the needle began to spin incredibly fast that Naomi almost couldn't see it. 

Was it broken? 

Why would Esteban have a broken compass? 

Suddenly the needle stopped and was pointing North and straight at the doors. 

Naomi then heard the door begin to open up and she hastily put the compass down and picked up the book instead. 

Esteban entered the room, currently engrossed in a stack of papers in his hands. So engrossed that when he finally noticed her, his whole body jolted as one hand shot down to the top of his boot. 

"Miss Turner--er--Naomi!" He flexed his hand and brought it back behind his back. "What are you doing here? How did you get in here?" 

"Higgins let me in," Naomi said calmly as she got up from the chair, book still in hand.

"Of course," Esteban sighed deeply. "He really can be persuaded too easily." 

"Wonder whose fault that is?" Naomi retorted under her breath and she approached him.

He must have heard her as he shot her a begrudging look before looking down to her hands.

Esteban then casually turned back to the papers in his hand and cleared his throat. “O how the stars and the divine sea seem to blend together in a never ending universe--” 

“Pray how can I ever set foot on land again after I’ve seen that heaven itself surely has none,” Naomi finished for him. 

His eyes shot to her. "You've read Lispin's memoirs?" "

"Please don't insult me, Esteban, I, at least, have some class," Naomi said with a lift of her brow, and then smiled when he caught on to her taunt as she passed him back the book. "Though the guy is a little pretentious, it's still a sailing classic, so of course I've read it." 

"Classic," Esteban said with an amused chuckle. "I suppose it would be that way to you. I remember reading it as a boy when it first came out." 

The grin that was forming on his face was forcibly stopped as he went to put the book back into its proper place on the shelf. "So what can I do for you besides having you barge into my private office?" 

"I came to tell you I'm coming with you." She then clarified with, "To Nueva Vista." 

Esteban actually almost tripped over his feet before looking at her, looking for any signs of her just playing with him. Which he would have found none.

"I already told you that it's not necessary for you to." 

"But it is," Naomi said firmly, pulling at his arm and forcing the papers away from his face, to make him look at her. "My place has always been to help Elena, to help Avalor, in any way possible. And if things are as bad as we think they are in Nueva Vista, then I certainly know where I need to be right now." 

"You're not ready for Nueva Vista," Esteban said with a chuckle.

Naomi crossed her arms. "How so? Enlighten me."

Esteban rolled his eyes, as if it should have been obvious. "You're a friend to Elena and a Council member. So I don't doubt your ability to write letters and file paperwork and do the tedious things needed. But at a Royal Court, one that is much more established than Avalor, the courtiers will eat you alive."

"And as I already told Elena before coming here, if I just need to sip tea with some stuffy, overly rich, peacocks occasionally, then I'm sure I'll be fine," Naomi said, rubbing her forehead at his dramatization.

"You really are naïve," Esteban sighed.

Naomi narrowed her eyes. "So you don't want to help your family?"

Esteban turned sharply to her. "I did not say that--"

"But you're implying it."

"I'm trying to protect you, Naomi!" Esteban exclaimed as he then grabbed her shoulders. "I've already said that politics is more than being able to use a weapon, and I meant it!"

Naomi felt herself taken aback by his outcry and the use of her given name. And from the concern in his eyes, he was actually being genuine too as she also felt the warmth of his palms seeping through her shirt. But she would not be deterred.

"And, as I've already told so, so many people, I don't need to be shielded away all the time," Naomi said as she shrugged off his hands. "Look. I can't fight. I can't run. And I can't hide. So, I will do what I can, which is protect and assist. That much I can do for your family." Naomi recrossed her arms. "So, we'll just put Mercedes's story and the past few days behind us, and stick to what we agreed on originally so we can go get this job done." 

Naomi looked back up at him and softly asked, "Is that really so bad? Really so much to ask?"

Esteban regarded her for a long while, staring at her, seeing if she would break. Which she didn't.

Finally, he let out another long, exaggerated sigh. "I suppose it wouldn't set a good first impression for us if the new Duchess suddenly showed up behind **The Royal Galleon** in **The WindChaser** , since I know you would just follow anyways. So, we'll be leaving in three days, can you be ready by then?"

Naomi grinned, holding her chin up high. "I can be ready in one."


End file.
